News Archive

Baby tuatara hatches - a first for Matiu/Somes Island

Published 13 August 2007 (Vic News)

It's official—tuatara are breeding on Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington Harbour.
Proof comes in the form of a tiny baby tuatara which emerged last week from an egg found on the island. It's the first known offspring of 54 Brothers Island tuatara transferred to the island nine years ago.
 And there may even be a sibling to follow. The egg was one of two taken from a buried nest on the island in May to be incubated at Victoria University of Wellington's School of Biological Sciences.
The Department of Conservation and tuatara experts from Victoria University of Wellington had long suspected the island's "robust and healthy" tuatara were breeding. But because the reptiles lead such secretive lives, and bury their tiny eggs in the ground, they had no tangible evidence—until the chance discovery of eggs beside a track on the island.
"The island ranger found two eggs which appeared to have been scratched from a burrow by another tuatara," DOC biodiversity programme manager Peter Simpson said.
"We would have been surprised if they hadn’t been breeding, but their buried nests are usually well concealed," Mr Simpson said.
He quickly alerted the experts and a probe of the burrow revealed six more eggs, two of which appeared to be viable. They were carefully monitored by Victoria University staff, who were thrilled to discover a fully formed, miniature tuatara had emerged from the egg overnight last Wednesday. Its sex has yet to be determined.
"We’ve been waiting for this for nine years. It’s fantastic," said School of Biological Sciences researcher Sue Keall.

"It’s the biggest sign yet of the success of the translocation programme."
The tuatara will be returned as soon as possible to join others in the wild on Matiu/Somes Island, a DOC-managed historic and scientific reserve.
"We'll look after it until it gets more robust but in nature parents desert the eggs in the nest as soon as they are laid. And from the moment they hatch, tuatara are very active and quick, and well able to fend for themselves."

The Matiu/Somes tuatara hatchling is just the second confirmed tuatara produced by Brothers Island tuatara (Sphenodon guntheri) transferred to offshore islands. The first, which was found by Victoria University researchers in January this year and is approximately 5 years old, was produced by tuatara transferred to Titi Island in the Marlborough Sounds 12 years ago. These were the only two transfers of Brothers Island tuatara, directly from the island and from eggs hatched at Victoria University and raised at Nga Manu Nature Reserve in Waikanae.
"It's taken a wee while to confirm they are breeding but now we can say for certain that they are," Ms Keall said. "We're all very excited."

For more information, contact Sue Keall on 04 463 5324 or Peter Simpson, Department of Conservation on 04 472 5821 or 027 474 8220.

For further information on Matiu/Somes Island, visit www.doc.govt.nz/matiu somes island
Further information on tuatara at Victoria University is available at:
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/sbs/tuatara/index.aspx

Genomic Research to Investigate Rare Children's Disease

The therapeutic effects of existing pharmaceutical drugs on a rare disease affecting one in 2000 children is under investigation by Victoria medical researchers using a new, specialised microscope.

Led by Professor Paul Atkinson and David Bellows in the University's School of Biological Sciences, the research aims to identify a cure for a congenital glycosylation disorder that results in a range of paediatric diseases.

Professor Atkinson says the disorder occurs when an enzyme needed to made complex carbohydrates is missing – a cellular malfunction attributed to a specific gene mutation. The process making these carbohydrates is highly conserved in evolution allowing use of simple microbes to facilitate study of the disease.

"By modelling, or emulating, the disease in yeast, we will find where the enzyme acts in a normal yeast cell and where it is blocked in mutated cells. We can then screen for drugs that will correct the defect."

The study has been made possible with the purchase of an Opera EvoTech automated confocal microscope – worth approximately NZ$1 million and the only one of its type in New Zealand. Professor Atkinson says the powerful machine allows researchers to shift genomics, the study of the relationships between gene structure and biological function, up a major gear to the next level of phenotype screening where they can microscopically see the reaction of cell to a mutation or a drug.

"This is a way of accessing a whole new level of information to help determine the genetic networks by which an enzyme is produced, and these are vast and complex networks that require intensive high throughput screening."

The microscope's five computers can take more than 100,000 2MB digital images a day, and use pattern recognition to interpret and sort microscopic shapes as part of the screening process. A unique water-immersion lens increases its aperture, resulting in a 50-fold increase in resolution.

For this particular task the microscope works in tandem with robotics equipment in the Chemical Genetics Laboratory – a highly specialised and unique laboratory that opened one year ago with funding from the Tertiary Education Commission. Chemical geneticists delineate genetic networks by conducting high throughput screening of living cells, and their research has a direct spin‑off for novel drug discovery, disease diagnostics or prediction of side‑effects.
One robot in the sequence of machines leading up to the Opera EvoTech will fill plates with yeast cells in solution, and another will add pharmaceutical chemicals to each with a precision that is unachievable by hand. The plates are then inserted into the microscope for screening.
Professor Atkinson says finding the right drug that acts as a "chemical chaperone" is not simply a matter of testing several hundred chemicals.

"Drug discovery has slowed down significantly in the past decade because scientists have discovered nearly all of the drugs that have a single gene targeting ability, in the case of simple diseases. Now it's all about discovering the combinations of genes to target with combinations of drugs, for complex diseases.

"We need to know the networks of genetic interactions to do so, because there is usually more than one biochemical pathway leading to the production of an enzyme a redundancy cells have evolved to protect themselves."

He says the major genomics research of the late '90s identified yeast, with similar enzyme pathways to humans, as an ideal organism on which to model human cellular processes.

About congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG).  

• it is estimated that at least a dozen new cases occur in New Zealand annually, but they are often assigned to another disease class.
• The disorder can result in a spectrum of severe diseases such as psychomotor retardation and seizures, and is estimated to incur costs of more than $NZ one million over a patient’s lifetime.
• In severe cases children may die before reaching adulthood.

Post-doctoral fellowship awarded

Dr Ann Wood of the Centre for Marine Environmental and Economic Research in the School of Biological Sciences has been acknowledged as one of New Zealand’s brightest researchers with a Post Doctoral Fellowship from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology. The research will be mentored by CMEER Director, Associate Professor Jonathan Gardner. Dr Wood’s research will study the population connectivity and evolutionary relationships of Siphonariid limpets – common to rocky shores throughout New Zealand. These limpets will be used as a model group for addressing long-standing questions about the biogeographical history of New Zealand’s marine biota, the evolution of reproductive strategies, and the role of planktonic larvae in the dispersal of marine species. The research will contribute to the design of effective conservation measures to maintain New Zealand’s unique biodiversity.

Health Research Council Funding

Congratulations to Dr Ronan O’Toole, Dr Elizabeth Maas, Dr Brent Copp and Professor Paul Atkinson in the School of Biological Sciences, recently awarded $129,500 from the Health Research Council for their research project to target essential genes in the treatment of tuberculosis. Congratulations also to Professor Franca Ronchese, Dr Thomas Backstrom and Professor Graham Le Gros from the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research who received $809,747 over 36 months for their project "Manipulating antigen presentation to control disease."

Collaboration to Concentrate Conservation Expertise

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Victoria University and Griffith University in Queensland, Australia will benefit research in the areas of biodiversity, biotechnology, conservation, ecology and genetics. 

The signing between Victoria's Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology and the Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies at Griffith University represents the first step towards a closer working relationship between the two specialised centres says Victoria Centre Director Associate Professor Ben Bell.

“The centres will co-operate to expand existing research, gain external research funding for joint research projects, establish postgraduate student exchanges and initiate joint research programmes," Dr Bell says.

“We aim to define a series of joint research projects in Australian (subtropical) and New Zealand (temperate) environments, and to also explore potential research collaboration in the Pacific islands.”

The MOU was fostered by research collaborations between Associate Professor Darryl Jones, Director of the Griffith University centre, and Dr Wayne Linklater, senior lecturer in conservation biology at Victoria.

Signed by Victoria University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pat Walsh, the MOU is the first international agreement to be formalised by the Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology. Established in 2006, the Centre concentrates its expertise on biodiversity research and the need to identify and restore depleted populations, species and communities in ecosystems that have been impacted by human activity.

“Victoria University staff are undertaking a range of research projects that embrace the focus of the Griffith University Centre - innovative conservation strategies. Staff and students at Victoria have worked in collaboration with the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and the Department of Conservation, developing new approaches to biodiversity and restoration ecology research. Investigations into the decline and conservation of our native frogs and tuatara are examples,” Dr Bell says

Tuberculosis Research Student Recognised

In recognition of her leading-edge research into the development of more effective ways to protect future generations of New Zealanders from Tuberculosis (Tb), Malaghan Institute PhD student Ms Kylie Quinn, has been awarded the Todd Foundation Award for Excellence by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee.

Ten years ago the World Health Organisation declared pulmonary Tb caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis to be a global health emergency.

Available options for managing the epidemic are either prevention, antibiotic treatment or the vaccine BCG.  However, treating Tb with antibiotics has become difficult due to the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains and BCG provides little protection for adults against Tb lung disease.

Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of an effective vaccine.

“Unfortunately traditional approaches used to vaccinate and protect against other diseases aren’t as effective for developing new vaccines for Tb,” said Ms Quinn.  “So we have to think a bit more laterally and we have decided to test a new type of vaccine called a DNA vaccine.”

Ms Quinn anticipates that the novel DNA vaccine will stimulate very strong immune responses targeted against the Mycobacterium pathogen.

“Ms Quinn’s research will enable us to determine whether our DNA vaccine is actually as good as we anticipate at stimulating a particular immune cell type called killer T cells and will provide us with clues as to whether a vaccine that activates these cells is good at protecting from infection with Tb,” said Dr Joanna Kirman, Ms Quinn’s PhD supervisor and Head of the Malaghan Institute Infectious Diseases Group.

With the recent outbreaks of Tb in the Central North Island and the increasing impact of international cases of multi-drug resistant strains of Tb on healthcare in New Zealand, it is a comfort to know that scientists at the Malaghan Institute are part of a worldwide effort to develop a more effective vaccine against this debilitating disease.

Victoria Centre forges links with UN body

Victoria University’s Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology is celebrating International Day for Biological Diversity having secured significant research links with a United Nations organisation.

Centre Director, Associate Professor Ben Bell, has just returned from Montreal, Canada, where he promoted New Zealand and the Centre’s conservation and research initiatives to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, part of the United Nations Environment Programme.

“Victoria University is the first university outside Canada to have developed a research relationship with the Convention on Biological Diversity. I am particularly pleased to announce this today—May 22—the International Day for Biological Diversity," says Dr Bell.

“The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase international understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues, and the theme for 2007 is topical—Climate Change and Biological Diversity.

“A number of research projects within the Centre at Victoria University address issues of climate change and their potential impact on biodiversity. For example, possible changes in distribution and in reproductive cycles of some of our cold-blooded animals, such as the tuatara and native frogs, or impacts of global warming on the biotic communities of the Antarctic."

Dr Bell was invited to Montreal by Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, who was a guest of the New Zealand Government in January. Victoria University hosted Dr Djoghlaf during his visit to Wellington, which included a visit to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Dr Djoghlaf was clearly impressed by the initiatives New Zealand has taken in conserving and restoring its biological diversity. In many ways New Zealand can inform the world in conservation management and research, particularly in the ways we have tackled species and island restoration, including ‘mainland islands’ like the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Our approaches to island conservation and restoration have already been successfully exported to island groups in the Pacific and further a field. There is more that we can do in this respect with the Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology working through a major international agency like the Convention on Biological Diversity.”

In a press communiqué issued after Dr Bell’s visit to Montreal, Dr Djoghlaf said he was pleased to see the Consortium of Universities expanding beyond Canada.
“I am honoured by the prospect of collaboration with the Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology of the prestigious Victoria University of Wellington in support of the scientific and technical component of the mandate of the Secretariat when Parties are redoubling their efforts to enhance the implementation of the objectives of the Convention, which require the active engagements of all stakeholders including the scientific community.

Using Bacterial Enzymes to Boost Chemotherapy

A Victoria University biotechnology research project that will test a range of bacterial enzymes with the potential for use in the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs has been awarded more than $388,000 by the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

A Victoria University biotechnology research project that will test a range of bacterial enzymes with the potential for use in the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs has been awarded more than $388,000 by the Cancer Society of New Zealand.

Led by Dr David Ackerley in the School of Biological Sciences, the multi-disciplinary research will build on the work of researchers at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre who earlier this year developed and began trialling the chemotherapeutic “smart-drug” PR-104.

Dr Ackerley says that while PR-104 is activated by human enzymes only under low oxygen conditions (such as those found in the core of solid tumours), his research looks at bacterial enzymes that can activate the drug regardless of oxygen levels.

"Gene therapy can be used to deliver such enzymes directly to tumour cells, but to date the effectiveness of this method has been limited by inefficient delivery systems. We have discovered several new bacterial enzymes that can activate drugs like PR-104, and which can extend their activity to all types of tumour tissue, not just the low-oxygen regions," Dr Ackerley says.

The research combines internationally recognised expertise in microbiology, molecular biology, and medicinal chemistry. With Auckland Cancer Society researcher Dr Adam Patterson, Dr Ackerley will optimise the activity of these enzymes using a powerful series of techniques known as 'directed evolution' For the past year Dr Ackerley and his team of postgraduate students in the School of Biological Sciences at Victoria have been applying these techniques to evolve enzymes with the potential to be useful in a wide range of industrial settings, including in the treatment of cancer.

He says the technology will potentially enable more effective chemotherapeutic treatments that have diminished side-effects in the human body.

Smart-drugs, or pro-drugs, are anticancer compounds that are non-toxic in their administration, but which become toxic when they are reduced by specific enzymes. Certain types of virus or bacteria can be modified to preferentially colonise cancerous cells, and anti-cancer gene therapy uses these agents to deliver pro-drug reducing enzymes specifically to tumours.

UN Leader Visits Victoria

Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, a United Nations’ Assistant Secretary-General, the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity, met with Victoria University staff in the last week of January to discuss the future of the deterioration of the Earth’s environment.

Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf with tuatara, Spike

Dr Djoghlaf visited New Zealand from Montreal as a Guest of the New Zealand Government from Sunday 28 January to Wednesday 31 January.

Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biodiversity is the first global agreement on conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and is part of the United Nations Environment Programme.
Associate Professor Ben Bell, Director of the Centre for Biodiversity & Restoration Ecology in the School of Biological Sciences, spent time with Dr Djoghlaf at the University and at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary.

“Dr Djoghlaf’s visit was an excellent opportunity for us to showcase New Zealand's unique environmental issues, the high level of our endemic indigenous biodiversity and the frameworks we have in place for managing environmental and resource management issues. The Convention on Biodiversity is a major step towards protecting and improving our planet for the future.”

Prof Fred Allendorf Publishes
"Conservation and the Genetics of Populations"

Professorial Research Fellow Fred Allendorf has published his book Conservation and the Genetics of Populations that he wrote with his colleague Gordon Luikart. This book provides a thorough understanding of the genetic basis of biological problems in conservation. It contains many examples from New Zealand species, including tuatara, kakapo, grand skink, inanga, New Zealand snapper, and Hector's dolphins. In addition, two of the 20 Guest Boxes at the end of each chapter are written by New Zealand conservation scientists.

Return to the Isle of Tuatara

Sue Keall, Kim Miller and Monica Gruber from the Allan Wilson Centre recently returned from Titi Island in the Marlborough Sounds where the first translocated population of Brothers Island tuatara was released 12 years ago. After many hours of scrupulous searching and assault from vines, twigs, and Ongaonga, the trio managed to capture 22 large and healthy tuataras.

Kim Miller wrestling with a 5 year old Tuatara wild-bred on Titi Island.

Most exciting was the capture of an approximately 5 year old juvenile without an identifying toeclip - the first confirmation since 1995 of successful breeding of the tuatara in their new habitat!

In November 1995, eighteen adult tuatara direct from North Brother Island, and 50 juveniles hatched at VUW and reared for 5 years in a headstart facility were released into custom built burrows on Titi Island by Sue and Nicky Nelson as part of a collaborative VUW / Department of Conservation / Te Atiawa and Ngati Kuia project.

Dr George Gibbs Publishes his Ghosts of Gondwana

Senior Research Associate Dr George Gibbs published his new book Ghosts of Gondwana : The History of Life in New Zealand, summarising a huge range of recent biological research on how our plants and animals evolved to produce our odd flora and fauna, revealing how landmark events shaped life as we see it today. Heaps of wonderful photos of plants, animals and landscapes. The book is full of useful maps and diagrams all well produced and subtly coloured.

Chemical Genetics Laboratory

Chemical genetics is a discipline that utilizes genetic epistasis to delineate the multigenic networks in which genes operate to affect phenotypes and traits. Measurements observe the effects of pairs of gene knockout mutations that singly have no effect but as a double mutant result in no growth.

Dr David Bellows, ex University of Toronto and from one of the world’s leading chemical genetics labs, who joined Victoria University in October 2006.

The technology is based on highthroughput screening of living cells in which double mutant strains are created robotically. The technology can be extended to pairs of chemicals acting in lieu of knockouts by ablating gene function or pairs of RNA is to ablate gene function or any paired combinations of these perturbations.

This research direction has a direct spin‑off for novel drug discovery, disease diagnostics or prediction of side‑effects. Highthroughput drug screens in the laboratory have already proven productive.

The VUW chemical genetics laboratory became operational in February 2006 and is unique in New Zealand. Chemical Genetics has been awarded funds from the Innovation and Development Fund through the Tertiary Education Commission of $1.53M, which became effective in July 2006.

International Workshop on Chemical Genetics

The Chemical Genetics programme held New Zealand's first international workshop on chemical genetics. Visitors came from the RIKEN Institute in Japan and nearer to home. These included:

• Professor Hiroyuki Osada, Chief Scientist of Antibiotics Laboratory
• Professor Minoru Yoshida, Chief Scientist of Chemical Genetics Laboratory
• Professor Masafumi Tsujimoto, Chief Scientist of Cellular Biochemistry Laboratory
• Professor Masaya Imoto Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University
• John Hay, Chief Executive Officer, ESR
• Val Orchard, Strategic Manager, Science and Research, ESR
• Peter Tyler, IRL
• Professor Andrew Abell, University of Canterbury
• Professor Peter Hunter, Director of the Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland

Bill Jordan, Paul Atkinson, James Matthews and David Maass with their Japanese visitors.

The main goal was to set up an international collaboration application in chemical genetics to FRST which is now on track to be submitted. Congratulations especially to Paul Atkinson and David Maas on organising such an excellent event.

Quadrennial Conference Australian and NZ Ecological Society

The School of Biological Sciences served as on‑campus host to the Quadrennial
combined conference of the Australian Ecological Society and New Zealand Ecological Society in August.

The 5‑day scientific programme of 340 presentations was managed by SBS staff, who presented 4 papers and co‑ordinated over 40 student helpers. 12 graduate students also made presentations.

The School sponsored a 2‑day symposium on restoration ecology during the conference, as it was required to do under the terms of the TEC grant which established the School’s ecological restoration teaching programme.