Adaptation by DNA download: Experimental evolution of a pangenome. This project aims to understand how microbes adapt when they can directly “download" new genes from their surrounding environment, or

Description

Adaptation by DNA download: Experimental evolution of a pangenome. This project aims to understand how microbes adapt when they can directly “download" new genes from their surrounding environment, or from other types of bacteria. Specifically, the proposed research will carry out the largest-scale measurements of the fitness effects of horizontally transferred genetic variation, to discover how each of these genes interacts with the environment, and with other genes. This project is expected to generate new knowledge in the fields of microbial evolution and microbiome science. The benefits of this cutting-edge research will be to strengthen Australia’s research capacity in these rapidly developing fields and to train a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology. Lead: Prof Michael McDonald