Australian Genome Research Facility

Who We Are

AGRF is a not-for-profit organisation, committed to quality and innovation. We actively seek to partner and share our knowledge and expertise in genomics. Through our national network, AGRF provides access to innovative and leading technologies, enabling genomics in the biomedical, agricultural and environmental sectors. From single gene analysis to whole genome sequencing, AGRF provides a full range of genomic capabilities and services with complementary bioinformatics across the entire biological spectrum, to academia, healthcare and commercial industries.

Vision

To help make the world a better and more sustainable place through the use of genomics.

Mission

AGRF’s purpose is to partner with the genomics community to make profound improvements to people’s lives by delivering a world-class, innovative, and integrated capability.

Collaboration

AGRF is an active collaborator on a number of Waite researcher grants that demonstrate collaborative partnerships, transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas to help secure commercial and wider benefits of research. Some of our recent collaborations include:

ARC Discovery Projects

Understanding adaptation to improve conservation of Australian flora.

Supported by School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide Evolutionary Biology Centre, University of Uppsala (Sweden) Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, Italian National Council of Research (Italy) Conservation Science Centre, The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW), Government of Western Australia.

Researchers

Prof Andrew Lowe; Dr Martin Breed; Dr Margaret Byrne; Prof Martin Lascoux; Dr John Stephen; Dr Giovanni Vendramin.

ARC Linkage projects

Identifying the diversity and evolution of loci associated with adaptation to aridity/heat and salinity in ancient cereal crops.

Supported by The Carlsberg Foundation, (Denmark), Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, University of Adelaide Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen (Scotland) Earth Institute, School of Archaeology, University College Dublin (Republic of Ireland) Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and School of Archaeology, University of Oxford (England)

Researchers

Prof Alan Cooper; Prof Michael Wilkinson; Dr Matthew Gilliham; Dr John Stephen; A/Prof David Salt; Prof Ron Pinhasi; Prof Thomas Higham; Professor Birger Lindeberg-Moeller.

The role of epigenetic modifications in bovid adaptation to environmental change.

Supported by Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Sydney, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, University of Adelaide Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide and Yukon Palaeontology Program, Government of Yukon (Canada).

Researchers

Prof Alan Cooper; Dr Catherine Suter; Prof Michael Wilkinson; Prof Stefan Hiendleder; Dr Bastien Llamas; Dr John Stephen; Prof Jeremy Taylor.

Using genetics to recover Australia’s lost history.

Supported by Bioplatforms Australia and co-sponsored by AGRF, National Geographic Magazine, and the SA Museum.

Researchers

Prof Alan Cooper; Dr Wolfgang Haak; A/Prof Robert Mitchell; Dr Emma Kowal; Dr Keryn Walshe; Prof Peter Sutton; Prof David Reich; Prof Simon Easteal; Dr John Stephen; Dr Miguel Vilar; Dr Chris Tyler-Smith.

ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre

Innovative Wine Production

The ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production aims to tackle challenges to wine production through innovative, multi-disciplinary research. Australia’s grape and wine industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet in some areas profitability is low. Reasons include extreme weather events, soil salinity and diseases, inefficient practices, a low level of technological innovation and high input costs. New technologies and process efficiencies developed as part of this project will reduce environmental impact, drive production costs down and profits and employment up. The project will mount a suite of industry-led projects to deliver outcomes to boost Australia’s competitiveness as a supplier of sustainably-produced premium branded wine to the world.

Researchers

Vladimir Jiranek, David Jeffery, Kerry Wilkinson, Stephen Tyerman, Susan Bastian, Richard Muhlack, Cassandra Collins, Vinay Pagay, Matthew Gilliham, Christopher Ford, Paul Grbin, Leigh Schmidtke, Suzy Rogiers, Paul Boss, David Wollan, Jean Macintyre, Christopher Brodie, Kim Chalmers, Anthony Borneman, Markus Herderich, Nick Dokoozlian, John Lai

Cross-NCRIS National Data Assets Program

OzBarley: from Genome to Phenome and back again. A barley data and germplasm asset for the Australian research and breeding community

The aim of the OzBarley project is to develop a publicly available Genotype-to-Phenotype (G2P) data asset meeting FAIR principles that is specifically designed by, and for, Australian researchers and breeders focusing on barley as an economically important model crop.  The OzBarley G2P data asset will provide the basis for the discovery of important genes and will reduce the barrier to entry for future barley funding applications. OzBarley will serve as the foundation for researchers to grow the data asset in the future by contributing additional data sets that follow the data standards set out within this project.

Researchers

Bettina Berger, Sarah Richmond, John Lai, Nathan Watson-Haigh, Matthew Tucker, Ken Chalmers, Robbie Waugh, Ben Trevaskis, Jessica Hyles, Emmett Leyne, Hannah Robinson, Tristan Coram, Brett Lobsey, Helen Thompson, Ute Baumann, Elena Kalashyan, Julian Schwerdt, Pooja Vashist

Wine Australia

Epi-breeding – Using the epigenetic memory of stress to prime Australian grapevines for a changing environment

Epigenetic mechanisms are an interface between the environment and the plant genotype that regulate gene expression in response to changing environments. When the epigenetic ‘memory’ of stress improves the response to subsequent stress, the plant is said to be epigenetically primed.  Environmental stresses had a significant impact on the plants’ gene expression in experiments and the profile of expression was different with each of the stresses. However, there was no effect of prior stress exposure on vine physiological response during vegetative growth.

Researchers

Penny Tricker, Everard Edwards, Ute Baumann, Yikang Hu, Kiflu Tesfamichael, Mario Fruzangohar, Carlos Rodriguez Lopez.