ACAD member wins Next Generation Sequencer

Five members of the Environment Institute’s Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) (Jeremy Austin, Jennifer Young, Jennifer Templeton, Denice Higgins and Janette Edson) attended and showcased their work at the International Symposium on Forensics, in Hobart 26-29th September.   Jennifer Templeton won 2nd prize for her poster, which illustrated ACAD’s recent work on enrichment strategies to retrieve whole mitochondrial genomes from forensic and ancient samples.

Jennifer subsequently attended the Asia-Pacific Sequencing Summit in Bali, run by LifeTech and took the ‘best poster’ award for her poster.  The prize was an Ion Torrent machine (Next Generation Sequencer).

Congratulations to Jennifer on this fantastic achievement and to all of the members of ACAD who were involved in the International Symposium.

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Flightless parrots, burrowing bats helped parasitic Hades flower

Ancient dung from a cave in the South Island of New Zealand has revealed a previously unsuspected relationship between two of the country’s most unusual threatened species.

A New Zealand short-tailed bat pictured while eating dactylanthus.
Photo by Nga Manu Nature Reserve.

Fossilised dung (coprolites) of a now rare parrot, the nocturnal flightless kakapo, contained large amounts of pollen of a rare parasitic plant, dactylanthus (commonly known as “wood rose” or “Hades flower”), which lives underground and has no roots or leaves itself.

Researchers from the Environment Institute’s  Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD)  and Landcare Research and the Department of Conservation in New Zealand report the discovery in a new paper published in the journal Conservation Biology.

The paper is titled ‘A Lost Link between a Flightless Parrot and a Parasitic Plant and the Potential Role of Coprolites in Conservation Paleobiology‘ and was written by Jamie Wood (Landcare Research), Janet Wilmshurst (Landacare Research), Trevor Worthy (University of NSW), Avi Holzapfel (Department of Conservation, NZ) and Environment Institute member Alan Cooper (Director, ACAD).

Read the Media Release

Download the paper

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New Paper: Historical stocking data and 19th century DNA reveal human-induced changes to native diversity and distribution of cutthroat trout

A new paper involving Environment Institute members Jessica Metcalf (now University of Colorado), Alan Cooper and Jeremy Austin, as well as Sierra Stowell (University of Colorado), Chris Kennedy (Colorado Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office), Kevin Rogers (Colorado Parks and Wildlife), Daniel McDonald (University of Colorado), Janet Epp (Pisces Molecular, LLC), Kyle Keepers (University of Colorado) and Andrew Martin (University of Colorado) has recently been published in the journal Molecular Ecology.

The paper, titled ‘Historical stocking data and 19th century DNA reveal human-induced changes to native diversity and distribution of cutthroat trout’. helps to clarify the native diversity and distribution of cutthroat trout in Colorado. The study is led by University of Colorado Boulder postdoctoral researcher Jessica Metcalf, a former postdoctoral researcher at the Environment Institute’s Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.

Download the Paper to find out more.

Read the Media Release produced by the University of Colorado.

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ACAD Bioinformatics Early Career Researcher Workshop – Event

The Australian Centre for Ancient DNA is pleased to host the third Early Career Researcher workshop that builds on the successful workshops held in 2009 and 2010. This workshop is an intensive 5 day hands-on training course tutored by international experts in the field, utilising leading software packages for the analysis of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and SNP array data.

The course will focus on interpreting complex data sets, such as genomic and metagenomic samples, and review the most recent developments in the field. The tutors will provide detailed instructions on the analysis of model and empirical datasets, and focus on the latest techniques available.

When: Monday 5th November – Friday 9th November
Where: The University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus
Cost: Environment Institute members – $190 (Early Bird rate)
Non-Environment Institute members – $400 (Early Bird rate)

Early registration is strongly encouraged as seating is limited to 30 places, and there is strong demand.  Interested graduates are encouraged to apply for travel funds from their host institution.

Find out more and register
Download the registration form

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Unsung Hero of South Australian Science Award 2012 – Dr Jeremy Austin

Dr Jeremy Austin

The Environment Institute would like to congratulate Dr Jeremy Austin on being presented with the ‘Unsung Hero of South Australian Science Award‘ for 2012 as part of National Science Week.

Dr Austin was presented with the award for his work with DNA and forensic indentification at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA in South Australia (ACAD).

“Jeremy has made the quantum leap from using techniques for scientific research to using them for direct human benefit. He has pioneered the transfer of new methods and technology into practical applications suitable for industry, particularly the forensics community. Having this calibre of scientist in our state is of enormous importance to South Australia.” (National Science Week)

Congralutations to Dr Jeremy Austin

Find out more about the award
Discover more about Dr Austin’s work at ACAD

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New Paper: The extinction of the Giant Moa was not caused by climate change

Professor Alan Cooper

A new paper titled ‘The effect of climate and environmental change on the megafaunal moa of New Zealand in the absence of humans‘ investigates using ancient DNA to assess the effect of climate and environmental changes on the now extinct Giant Moa. The researchers discovered that climate and environmental changes did not have a signifcant impact on the population of the extinct New Zealand bird.

The paper involves Environment Institute members Nicolas Rawlence (also of the University of Waikato), Jeremy Austin (also of Museum Victoria) and Alan Cooper as well as Jessica Metcalf (University of Colorado), Jamie Wood (Landcare Research), Trevor Worthy (Australian Centre for Ancient DNA) and has been published in Quaternary Science Reviews.

Download the paper to read about their findings
Read the University of Adelaide’s media release

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SA Scientist of the Year Finalist – Professor Alan Cooper

Professor Alan Cooper

The Environment Institute would like to congratulate Professor Alan Cooper on his nomination as a finalist for the South Australian Scientist of the Year Award.

Professor Cooper is one of five finalists for the award which celebrates the outstanding achievements of South Australia’s best and brightest scientists. He was nominated for his exceptional work as the Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD).

For highlights of Professor Cooper’s work;

The winners will be announced at the Awards Gala Dinner on Friday 17th August 2012.

Congratulations and good luck to Professor Alan Cooper.

For more information please follow the link.

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ACAD Guest speaker: Johannes Krause – Podcast now available

Download a podcast of Associate Professor Johannes Krause presentation titled, ‘The Genome of the Black Death’ presented by the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD).

Assoc. Professor Johannes Krause

Assoc. Professor Johannes Krause from the Institute for Archaeological Sciences University of Tübingen, Germany gave a special presentation on Thursday 17th May 2012.

The talk focused on Assoc. Professor Krause’s findings obtained by using high throughput DNA sequencing in combination with targeted DNA enrichment to reconstruct the ancient genome of Yersinia pestis from skeletons securely dated to the Black Death pandemic from the East Smithfield cemetery in London, England, 1348 – 1350.

Download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation.

Find out more and download the podcast.

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ACAD Guest Speaker: Carlos Vuella – Podcast now available

Download a podcast of Dr Carlos Vuella’s presentation titled, ‘Forensic genetics for human remains identification: The EAAF experience’ presented by the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.

Dr Carlos Vulla, Scientific Director of the Forensic Genetics Laboratory, Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) & Director of the Laboratorio de Inmunogenética y Diagnostico Molecular gave a special presentation on Wednesday 18th April.

The EAAF (Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team) is a non-profit NGO based in Argentina that applies forensic science to the investigation and documentation of human rights violations by providing an independent forensic investigation and recovery of human remains in over 40 countries world-wide. The team was founded in 1984 in response to the need to investigate the disappearance of over 9000 people in Argentina between 1976 and 1983. EAAF combines forensic anthropology, archaeology and genetics to find, exhume and identify victims of disappearances and extra-judicial killings.

Find out more and download the podcast

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ACAD Guest Speaker: Professor Keith Dobney – Podcast now available

Download a podcast of Professor Keith Dobney’s presentation titled, ‘From falconry to farming: new ways of exploring the “Neolithic Revolution” through the fossil vertebrate record’ presented by the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.

Professor Keith Dobney

Keith Dobney is visiting from the Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, UK. Professor Dobney’s key research themes include the origins of agriculture, the domestication of animals, human and animal dispersal, diet and health, palaeopathology and palaeoeconomics.

In this presentation, Keith  discussed the results of diverse research, carried out over the last 15 years on fossil vertebrate remains across the Old World, which is shedding new light on one of the most important bio-cultural transitions in human history – the shift from foraging to farming.

Find out more and download the podcast.

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