Dr Peter Hunt is working to manage livestock parasites and is based at the FD McMaster Laboratory in Armidale, New South Wales.
Current activities
Dr Peter Hunt is using molecular biological techniques to improve the management of parasites in grazing systems.
Using sheep resistant to nematode parasites and other breeds with differing resistance characteristics, Dr Hunt is working with other researchers to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for parasite resistance.
Genes which contribute to resistance or susceptibility can be used in marker-assisted sheep breeding programs.
Parasitic nematode populations are large and generation intervals are small which provides them with the capacity to change through selection. Drug-resistant parasite populations have evolved in Australia, causing significant difficulties in the sheep and goat industries.
With colleagues, Dr Hunt is developing PCR-based tests to detect and quantify parasites, diagnosing drug resistance and differences in parasite virulence. Collaboration with the Barber’s pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) genome project is part of this work.
By using molecular biological techniques, Dr Hunt is improving the management of ruminant parasites.
Dr Hunt is leading three projects:
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quantitation of sheep nematodes in faeces using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
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discovering gene markers for breeding resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes in sheep
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virulence in Haemonchus contortus: using the H. contortus genome to discover the genetic basis of differences between strains.
Background
Dr Hunt joined CSIRO in 1998.
After completing his Doctorate, Dr Hunt undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Edinburgh where he focussed on nematode hemoglobins. He worked on proteins from:
Dr Hunt studied the phylogenetic relationships between the hemoglobin genes throughout the phylum Nematoda. A highlight was discovering a hemoglobin gene which acts as a shading pigment in the eye-like organ of adult female M. nigrescens.
Dr Hunt undertook another postdoctoral fellowship at CSIRO Plant Industry in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, focussing on the expression, evolution and function of plant hemoglobin genes. The phylogenetic characterisation of a new family of hemoglobins was one research highlight.
He also discovered that a gene from Arabidopsis thaliana, GLB1, could increase hypoxia tolerance in plants. CSIRO continues to work on this gene to determine whether flood-tolerant plants can be developed.
Academic qualifications
Dr Hunt studied rural science at the University of New England (UNE), Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. He graduated with First Class Honours from UNE, majoring in molecular biology.
Dr Hunt studied for his PhD with the CSIRO Division of Animal Health. His thesis was titled, Isolation and characterisation of dominant Ivermectin resistance mutations from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
His work showed that there are more than 30 loci in the C. elegans genome which can mutate to impart resistance to Ivermectin. This helps to explain the speed with which parasites became resistant to Ivermectin in the 1990s. The work also led to a patent for detecting some strains of resistant nematodes.
Achievements
In addition to leading three projects, Dr Hunt also:
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participates in two additional sheep genomics projects
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supervises a number of students
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is adjunct lecturer with the University of New England’s Institute for Genetics and Bioinformatics.
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