A Workshop on Horizontal Gene Flow in Microbial Communities, to be held on June 13-15, 2004 in Warrenton, VA.

垂直基因遗传涉及基因从父母转移到后代，而水平基因转移（HGT）描述了不同物种生物之间的基因交换。这是一个赠款授予博士巴斯Smets（康涅狄格大学）和塔玛Barkay（罗格斯大学）召开一个科学研讨会上HGT介导的基因流在复杂的微生物群落将举行的沃伦顿，弗吉尼亚州或约2004年6月13日至15日。该研讨会的目的是启动生命科学和工程中不同领域的概念和实验方法的整合，以了解HGT在塑造代谢多样性和微生物群落潜力方面的潜在作用。 活跃在进化生物学，分子生物学和微生物生态学/环境微生物学领域的30名高级职业科学家和10名博士后研究员，具有明确的专业知识和对HGT的兴趣，将参加与这个非常及时的问题相关的演讲和讨论。 最近对微生物基因组序列的研究和对不同环境中微生物群落的分子分析得出的数据表明，HGT的发生频率远远高于五年前的想象。 HGT对微生物进化有显著影响，影响现存微生物群落的遗传和代谢多样性，并影响生态系统功能、抗生素耐药性的传播、新的植物和动物病原体的出现以及有毒和难降解环境污染物的持续存在等过程。 因此，HGT可能具有广泛的社会影响。 拟议的研讨会，通过促进科学家之间的沟通，从看似无关的科学学科，可能会刺激新的知识和概念框架的整合HGT到微生物群落及其活动的更好的理解。 通过包括大量早期职业科学家以及科学界代表性不足的群体成员，这次聚会还将对工作场所的教育，培训和多样性产生更广泛的影响。 这次活动将产生一份报告，总结发言和讨论，并包括对未来研究方向的建议。

Vertical gene inheritance involves the transfer of genes from parents to offspring, whereas horizontal gene transfer (HGT) describes the exchange of genes between different species of organisms. This is a grant award to Drs. Barth Smets (University of Connecticut) and Tamar Barkay (Rutgers) to convene a scientific workshop on HGT-mediated gene flow in complex microbial communities to be held at Warrenton, VA on or about June 13-15, 2004. The purpose of the workshop is to initiate the integration of concepts and experimental approaches from diverse fields within the life sciences and engineering to understand the potential role of HGT in shaping the metabolic diversity and potential of microbial communities. 30 advanced-career scientists and 10 postdoctoral fellows active in the fields of evolutionary biology, molecular biology, and microbial ecology/environmental microbiology, with explicit expertise and interest in HGT will participate in presentations and discussions relevant to this very timely issue. Data emerging from recent studies on microbial genome sequences and from molecular analysis of microbial communities from diverse environments suggest that HGT occurs far more frequently than imagined even five years ago. HGT has a significant effect on microbial evolution, influences the genetic and metabolic diversity of extant microbial communities, and affects such processes as ecosystem function, the spread of antibiotic resistance, the emergence of new plant and animal pathogens, and the persistence of toxic and recalcitrant environmental contaminants. As a result, HGT may have wide-reaching societal implications. The proposed workshop, by fostering communication between scientists from seemingly unrelated scientific disciplines, is likely to spur new intellectual and conceptual frameworks for the integration of HGT into a greater understanding of microbial communities and their activities. By including a significant number of early career scientists, as well as members of underrepresented groups in science, the gathering will also have a broader impact on education, training and diversity in the workplace. A report summarizing presentations and discussions, and including recommendations for future research directions will result from this event.