Research School of Biology Newsletter Issue 120 | June 2020 ANU COLLEGE OF SCIENCE RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Drone research: The ANU node of the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility is leading research into developing the Australian Scalable Drone Cloud. Tim Brown explains: “Drone technology is being deployed across many settings, including agricultural research and management, environmental monitoring, geosciences and more, but the data generated can be complex and hard to use.” This research is supported by the Australian Lauren Ashman's study organisms. Main image: the beetle Rhytiphora lateralis by Stuart Harris, smaller beetle images, R. lateralis and R . Research Data Commons and will focus penthea sourced from ANIC. on best practice for drone data analysis. “The ability to standardise 3D geospatial ecosystems. I learned a lot. And I learned data-gathering, processing and analysis via PHDS APPROVED more than just science - I learned about new technologies built specifically for the cloud cultures and new ways to see life. Thanks E&E, Congratulations to Pawan Parajuli (BSB, will significantly improve the accessibility, Craig and the Moritz Group for the amazing Verma Group) who has been awarded a reusability, and interoperability of drone data time together!” PhD on: Study of bacteriophage-encoded for application across industry, research and glucosyltransferase (gtr) genes in Shigella public sectors” explains Tim. flexneri serotype 1c. GRANTS Volunteering for COVID-19 diagnosis. “Congratulations to Pawan Kara Youngentob and Karen Ford (E&E) A team of scientists including Sarah Rottet for producing an excellent have received a grant of $275,000 from (PS), Diep Ganguly (PS), Aude Fahrer (BSB), thesis which unravelled the Minderoo Foundation for their project Suyan Yee (PS), Wil (Wei) Hee (PS) volunteered the mystery of the origin "Minimising bushfire effects on wildlife: to contribute their molecular biology of a newly-emerged Managing koalas in post-fire landscapes." expertise and knowledge to fighting the serotype of S. flexneri!” Covid-19 pandemic. Using their free time Naresh Verma, supervisor. In addition, during the shutdown, they worked together the Koala team (while still social distancing) to develop received $100,000 several diagnostic tools to easily identify PHDS SUBMITTED from Two Thumbs CoViD-19 cases, as well as address several of Wildlife Trust to the supply shortage problems the world was Congratulations to Jessica Fenker (E&E, support koala facing, in terms of testing kits and nasal swabs. Moritz Group) who conservation Further details can be found on page 2 of this handed in her PhD research in the newsletter. on the “Evolution of Paul the Koala - photo by Marta Yebra name of the pilots reptile diversity in who lost their lives fighting fires over Two tropical savannas — a Thumb's Sanctuary: Captain Ian McBeth, Paul study across scales Hudson and Rick DeMorgan. Finally, they and continents”. Jess received about $10,000 from the wider public explains: “The ANU via a donation scheme set up by ANU to Research School of Biology is really a special support koala rescue activities. place. Being part of a supportive group, a multicultural and collaborative department, and advanced scientific circle are what I most IN THE MEDIA enjoyed during my PhD – together with the opportunity to do fieldwork in amazing Chris Sanderson (E&E) is the project manager for the Butterflies Australia project and tells us Images: Aude Fahrer, Diep Ganguly, Sarah Rottet, Suyan Yee, Wil places, learning new skills and bring new Hee, Aaron Smith, Nay Chi Khin and Tony Millar. information about the incredible savannas how they got their very own stamp. Butterflies Australia is a national citizen science project parasites - "Love the parasite you're with - highest academic standards.” aimed at collecting sightings of butterflies the entertaining life of unwelcome guests to use for research and conservation. from flea circuses to Aliens". HDR Update: Don't be lonely in lockdown! The HDR update is a full listing of all events The project was funded by the citizen Drones in the news: The ANU node of the and activities open to HDR candidates at science grants from the Department of NCRIS funded Australian Plant Phenomics ANU. These are free, exclusive opportunities Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. We Facility (APPF) has been making the news develop your professional skills and meet can be found at www.butterflies.org.au, and with press releases on “Drone cloud: other people from around campus. https://www.facebook.com/ausbutterflies/ establishing a national ecosystem for on Facebook. We have a free app on drone data management” and “Elevating Android and iOS that has a field guide, and Australia’s drone enabled geoscience” VOLUNTEERING people can upload their butterfly sightings FOR COVID-19 also. We’ve had a fantastic first six months of Kara Youngentob and Karen Ford (E&E) and operation, launching coincidentally in one their Koala focused research is in the news DIAGNOSIS of the best butterfly emergence events in a with a recent article in The Age highlighting decade on the east coast of Australia! We’ve the urgent need for a Koala recovery plan reached our first 5,500 verified sightings across Australia. already, and look forwards to many more in the next few years. TRAINING UPDATE (Continued from page 1) Suyan Yee, Wei RSB ECRs are offering a biological data (Wil) Hee & Sarah Rottet explain how the science course to upgrade staff and RSB team are Developing a Rapid Screening students' quantitative skills. During the Test for CoViD-19 (SARS-CoV-2). Like the first six weeks over 200 participants rest of the world, Australia has been hit were trained in R, Python, bash, statistics hard by the CoViD-19 global pandemic. and bioinformatics. Sessions are video Among the affected are institutions, such as recorded and can be watched later here, the Australian National University (ANU). All while feedback is provided anytime via teaching was moved online and delivered Slack. The next few courses will cover remotely, the University was swiftly closed How did the butterfly get on the stamp? workspace management, SnakeMake, on the 30th of March to help contain We were fortunate to be invited by the Conda, maps and multivariate analyses the spread of the virus and research was Australian Citizen Science Association in R. More information and sign-in here. suddenly halted. The closure impacted https://citizenscience.org.au/ to be part of Thank you from Timothee Bonnet on everyone, especially our research scientists. a pitch to Australia Post for a stamp issue behalf of the organizing committee: Megan Most of our plant material had to be raising awareness of citizen science in McDonald, Tom Davis, Nidhi Menon, Jana discarded, which was another setback on Australia. Our project was one of the lucky Sperschneider, Kevin Murray, Saul Newman, years of research, following the hailstorm four who were chosen to be featured on a Benjamin Schwessinger, Teresa Neeman, damage on our glasshouses earlier this year. stamp! The stamp design is based off our Robert Cope, Marcin Adamski, Eric Stone The transition to ‘working from home’ also logo, but features a Spotted Jezabel (Delias et al. had its difficulties, given lab-based research aganippe), one of our beautiful endemic is not particularly a ‘work from home’ gig. butterfly species which can be found in most states and territories, is arid adapted, CAMPUS NEWS One such diagnostic test, which was and also strikingly beautiful. We thought developed within the two months of Ben Corry (BSB), John Debs (RSPhys), and it made a pretty great representative of lockdown volunteer work, included a Celine d’Orgeville (RSAA) were recently Australia’s butterflies! rapid SYBR-Green-based one step qPCR elected as the CoS representatives on assay to detect SARS-CoV-2 from saliva. the ANU Academic Board. Please don’t Jessica Fenker a PhD student and This method omits the labour-intensive hesitate to contact Ben if you would like to herpetologist (E&E, Moritz Group) had an RNA extraction step, and combines the raise any RSB issue related to ensuring the ECR feature in the Journal of Biogeography. reverse transcription and qPCR steps into a University maintains the highest standard one-step, one-pot reaction, with the aim of in teaching, scholarship and research. Ben PhD student Lauren Ashman (E&E, Rowell making it a high-throughput screening test. explains “Currently we are facing a number Group) had her research hit the news with The use of a SYBR-Green-based technique of challenges and it is more important than Beetle mania! Lauren is studying longhorn instead of a hydrolysis probe-based qPCR ever to ensure that the University maintains beetle taxonomy. also allows for the investigation of primer integrity in our teaching and research, specificity and amplification efficiency. especially if we are to thrive in a difficult Jennie Mallela (E&E) was interviewed for Through our research, we found a set of environment. I am particularly interested a podcast on coral bleaching for the ANU primers not currently used in any existing in ways we can learn from our experiences Climate Change Institute. You can hear the diagnostic kit that would be an excellent of remote teaching and breaks in research podcast here. candidate for specifically screening against to improve what we do in the long term. CoViD-19. Collecting and testing saliva also Please don’t hesitate to contact any of us Alex Maier (BSB) and Anna Sophie Jurgens means that the discomfort associated with, if you would like to raise any issue related showcase the comic cultural history of and the training required to administer a to ensuring the University maintains the 2 The Research School of Biology nasopharyngeal swab can be avoided. M. Mu, M.E. Sabot, A.J. Pitman, et al.