10 Minute Talks
Mohammad Abu Noman, RMIT University – Microplastics and PFAS interactively exacerbate organic matter degradation
Sagar Aryal, Tribhuvan University – Actinomycete-derived metabolites from high-altitude soils of Nepal targeting emerging pathogens.
Nadeesha Athukorala, Monash University – Metabolic flexibility of methane-oxidising bacteria
Talisa Doering, The University of Melbourne – Future-proofing coral reefs via bacterial manipulation
Nataly Guevara, Deakin University – Harnessing soil microbiomes for saltmarsh restoration
Erandi Herath, University of Melbourne – Isolation, characterisation, and encapsulation of plant growth-promoting bacteria from vineyard soils for biofertilizer development
Gareth Howells, Monash University – Klebsiella pneumoniae digests the capsule to survive starvation
Yuka Katayama, Monash University – Hydrogenogenic CO oxidation energizes thermophilic facultative anaerobes under nutrient-limited conditions
Christopher Keneally, University of Adelaide – Organic matter accumulation drives methylotrophic methanogenesis and microbial ecology in a hypersaline coastal lagoon
Thilini Koralegedara, Monash University – Mycobacterium smegmatis, an obligate aerobe, utilises alternative fermentation pathways and carbon storage for survival during hypoxia.
Bob Leung, Monash University – Unique bark microbiota modulate climate-active gas fluxes from trees
Jiahui Li, ACWEB of UQ – Microbial consortium capable to consume N₂O and H₂ simultaneously
Ziva Louisson, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research – Microbial trait and community shifts at the forest edge
Ganesh Govind Madakaripura Rangaswamy, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University – The brassica bio-shield: microbe-based approaches for improved disease resistance and plant health
Diana Marshall, University of Technology Sydney – Using the postmortem microbiome to estimate time since death
Alessandro N Garritano, University of New South Wales – From the abyss to the atmosphere: the role of deep-sea sponges in the carbon cycle
Shuo Na, University of Melbourne – Free-living nematodes promote ammonification and bacterial community growth
Sunho Park, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) – Co-metabolic ethane oxidation regulates core metabolism in obligate methanotroph Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b upon nutrient availability
Carl Pille, University of Melbourne – Microbial odours promote grass growth
Astrid Stubbusch, Monash University – Hydrogen cycling in the human gut: linking microbial metabolism to human health
Janelle Thompson, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), NTU – Evaluating wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance for tracking novel RNA viruses: A spatial and temporal study conducted on a University campus
15 Minute Talks
Fernanda Adame, Griffith University – Blue carbon: microbes, plants and animals meet to sequester carbon in the intertidal
Valérie Burtet-Sarramegna, University of New-Caledonia – Halophyte plant species as a reservoir of extremophile microorganisms useful for the implementation of bio-augmented phytoremediation strategies and/or biotechnological developments
Simona Della Valle, University of Western Australia (UWA) – Developing genetic tools to improve gas fermentation
Nick Dragone, University of Colorado Boulder – Understanding the limits of life with Antarctic soil microorganisms
Kari Dunfield, University of Guelph – Beyond degradation: Integrating microbial traits into reclamation decision-making
Linda Guentas, ISEA-University of New Caledonia currently hosted by Flinders University South Australia – The EPS-producing Paraburkholderia ultramafica: a tool for enhanced ecological restoration and metal bioremediation.
Rebekah Henry, Monash University – Integrating metagenomic analysis into primary endpoints of randomised rontrolled trials
Ry Holland, Monash University – Antarctic aerotrophs: winners or losers in a warming climate?
Anthony Kohtz, Monash University – Who’s making all that methane? The first cultures of non-traditional methanogens illuminate their diversity, metabolism, and evolution
Steve Petrovski, La Trobe University – Cocultivation of Saccharibacterium epiparasite Candidatus Mycosynbacter amalyticus and resistance mechanisms
Sacha Pidot, University of Melbourne – Antibiotic biodiscovery for a changing world
Binod Rayamajhee, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) – Metagenomics insights into blind-causing Acanthamoeba and its impact in bacterial communities at popular beaches on the east coast of Sydney
Francesco Ricci, Monash University – Metabolically flexible microorganisms rapidly establish glacial foreland ecosystems
Justin Seymour, University of Technology Sydney – Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water: aquatic microbial hazards in a changing environment
Yulin Shu, University of Melbourne – Metagenomic stable isotope probing reveals active viral participation in soil nitrification
Karen Trchounian, Yerevan State University – Microbial valorization of organic waste towards sustainable hydrogen production
Stacey Trevathan-Tackett, RMIT University – Microbial power shaping carbon cycling and climate resilience in coastal ecosystems
Madeleine van Oppen, University of Melbourne – Coral probiotics
Thomas Watts, Monash University – Antimicrobial-resistant opportunistic pathogens depend on virulence factors for environmental persistence
Sukhwan Yoon, KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) – Nitric oxide reduction by a DNRA-catalyzing bacterium: a hidden but potent source of nitrous oxide
Poster
Lucas Barbieri Oliveri, Monash University – Oxidation of atmospheric trace gases supports long-range dispersal of thermophiles
Isini Buthgamuwa, University of Melbourne – Decoding the microbial maze: unravelling toxic Cyanobacterial ecosystem challenges in wastewater reuse
Naim Che-Kamaruddin, Universiti Malaya – Durability and functionality of SARS-CoV-2 immunity across vaccination strategies
Zachary Galvani, Monash University – Taxonomic and functional diversity of the moss microbiome across stress gradients in East Antarctica
Jamia Hemphill, Monash University – Investigating antimicrobial activity in commensal bacterial communities in the human gastrointestinal microbiome.
James Hensel, University of Adelaide – Understanding methane cycling within a eutrophic hypersaline coastal lagoon.
Tess Hutchinson, Monash University – Aerotrophic persistence in the Atacama: linking CO₂ fixation and altitude
Nural Izzati, University of Queensland – Industrially relevant CO₂ waste valorisation to methyl ketones via two staged fermentation
Guolin Li, University of Melbourne – Unveiling how plant-microbe symbiosis varies across plant distribution ranges and interacts with environmental stress
Luanny Martins Fernandes, University of Melbourne – ROS-scavenging abilities of bacterial candidates earmarked for enhancing coral thermal tolerance
Jing Miao, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) – Depth-dependent environmental variation shapes mangrove sediment microbiomes with implications for carbon cycling
Nur Insyirah Mohd Razalan, University of Malaya – Resolving misidentification of Streptococcus agalactiae in a Lactococcus-like isolate via polished Oxford Nanopore reference-based assembly: a preliminary data
Abigail Neve, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute – Can capsule promote UV killing? Exploring the mechanism underlying capsule-dependent increased UV susceptibility in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae
Takahiro Ohnishi, National Institutes of Health Sciences – Contamination of rivers and seafood with enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens
Geoffrey Otim, University of Queensland – Engineering Clostridium autoethanogenum for enhanced syngas-to-isobutanol conversion via redox optimization and synthetic microcompartments
Yongyi Peng, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University – Widespread horizontal transfer and strong selection for aerotrophy genes enhance microbial adaptation in Antarctic soils
Warunika Rankiri Pathirannahelage, Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC – Unexpected aerotolerance in a gut microbe [FeFe]-hydrogenase provides implications for future biotechnological use
Niki Romeo, Flinders University – Legacy impacts of 6:2 FTAB fire-fighting foams on microbial communities in South Australia
Anand Kumar Sethukali, University of Melbourne – Peach kernel oil-based double emulsions in dairy matrices: a sustainable strategy for next-generation probiotic delivery
Jessica Solari, Monash University – A ubiquitous anaerobe uses a novel [FeFe] hydrogenase fusion enzyme to mitigate oxidative stress
Sandeep Thapa, Kathmandu Center for Genomics and Research Laboratory (KCGRL) – Assessing the burden of TORCH infections in high-risk pregnancies: strategies for improved pathogen surveillance and control
David Ubi, University of Queensland – Production of bio-isoprene through the coculture of a methanotroph and an Escherichia coli strain
Tong Wang, The University of Melbourne – Hitchhiking in plant recruitment of beneficial microbes: a microfluidic approach
Maiko Watanabe, National Institute of Health Sciences – Molecular epidemiological characterization of Clostridium perfringens isolates from clinical, food, and environmental origins
Jade Wong, University of Melbourne – Mitigating climate change: the potential for biofertilisers and volatile organic compounds for improving crop resilience
Cher Xu, University of Melbourne – Sustainable utilisation of soymilk by-products for probiotic food applications
Meihui Yan, University of Melbourne – Isolation and characterization of probiotic candidates from tropical fruits for enhancing gastrointestinal health
Jialing Zeng, Monash University – Microbial functional diversity in the dark ocean linked to the absence of oxygenic phototrophs
Poster plus 1×1
Sohail Ahmed, University of Karachi – Rhizosphere metabolomics and morphophysiological adaptations in wheat under drought stress: insights into plant-soil interactions for climate resilience
James Archer, Monash University – Thermophilic microbes consume atmospheric trace gases at sub-optimal temperatures as a potential aerial dispersal mechanism
Daniel Bergen, University of Queensland – Boosting carbon yields of bioprocesses via synthetic chemolithoheterotrophy in Pseudomonas putida
Lok Hang Chan, University of Melbourne – Cultivar specific wheat-microbe interaction under N deficiency
Kristy Chang, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University Singapore – Differential gene expression of scCO₂ tolerant Priestia megaterium SR7 under variable growth rate and end-product toxicity during continuous flow under an ambient atmosphere
Jaeho Choi, Seoul National University – Towards closing the gaps in life cycle assessment of methanotrophic PHB production
Sam Pei Fong, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) – Microbial and edaphic responses to vertebrate decomposition under tropical climate: implications for soil function and ecosystem dynamics
Miao He, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan – Effects of near-infrared illumination on the microbial community in an anaerobic wastewater treatment process
Shouhei Hirose, National Institute of Health Sciences – Molecular epidemiological characterization of Staphylococcus aureus associated with food poisoning outbreaks in Japan
Tamami Hirota, Tokyo University of Science – Survey on the distribution of Bacillus and Staphylococcus species in insect-based foods purchased in the Japanese market
Beth Jones, Coopers Brewery – Pectinatus detection and growth dynamics in beer
Jessica Joyce, Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Australia – Genomic and proteomic prioritization of antigens in the design of vaccines against uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC)
Kohei Nishikaku, National Institute of Health Sciences – Spatial distribution patterns of Campylobacter in wild ducks in Japan: implications for food safety and public health
Lakshmi Gayathri Vemparala, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology – Unlocking the potential of Gordonia rubripertincta in syngas fermentation for carbon monoxide bioconversion into carotenoids
Caitlin Welsh, Monash University – A widespread hydrogenase supports fermentative growth of gut bacteria in healthy people
Nadia Zermani, La Trobe University – Every drop counts: linking soil microbes to water repellency in agricultural systems