Genome Sequence of Wolbachia/Drosophila Lateral Gene Transfer

沃尔巴克氏体/果蝇横向基因转移的基因组序列

• 批准号: 0826732
• 负责人: Julie Hotopp
• 金额: $ 31.35万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland at Baltimore
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0826732&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Genome; Sequence; Wolbachia; Drosophila; Lateral

Bacteria commonly acquire important antibiotic resistance, virulence, and bioremediation genes through the movement of DNA from one bacterium to another, also known as lateral gene transfer or LGT. Unlike LGT in bacteria, LGT from bacteria to animals was thought to be rare and unimportant. But in fact, more than 70% of the genomes of Wolbachia-infected insects have evidence of LGT from bacterium to animal. The goal of this project is to examine the genomic changes in the fruity fly Drosophila due to LGT from the bacterium Wolbachia. The DNA of both the fruit fly insert and the resident bacterial genome will be sequenced using extremely high-throughput, next generation sequencing technologies. State-of-the-art bioinformatic techniques will be used to decipher the role and impact of the transferred DNA in flies.Wolbachia are very abundant bacteria because their hosts are among the most abundant animals on earth. These hosts include parasitic worms and disease-spreading pests like mosquitoes and tsetse flies. Current drugs and pesticides targeting these organisms can be toxic to humans because the worm/insect genes are similar to human genes. However, LGT genes are more closely related to bacterial genes, and as such, can be targeted with less toxic drugs or pesticides similar to antibiotics. A portion of the project will focus on educating grade school children about genomics and genetics with an emphasis on relating science to everyday life.

细菌通常通过DNA从一个细菌到另一个细菌的运动获得重要的抗生素抗性、毒力和生物修复基因，也称为横向基因转移或LGT。与细菌中的LGT不同，从细菌到动物的LGT被认为是罕见且不重要的。但事实上，超过70%的沃尔巴克氏体感染昆虫的基因组有证据表明从细菌到动物的LGT。这个项目的目标是检查果蝇基因组由于沃尔巴克氏菌的LGT而发生的变化。果蝇插入体和常驻细菌基因组的DNA将使用超高通量的下一代测序技术进行测序。最先进的生物信息学技术将用于破译在果蝇中转移的DNA的作用和影响。沃尔巴克氏体是非常丰富的细菌，因为它们的宿主是地球上最丰富的动物之一。这些寄主包括寄生虫和传播疾病的害虫，如蚊子和采采蝇。目前针对这些生物的药物和杀虫剂可能对人类有毒，因为蠕虫/昆虫的基因与人类基因相似。然而，LGT基因与细菌基因的关系更密切，因此可以用毒性较小的药物或类似抗生素的杀虫剂来靶向。该项目的一部分将侧重于对小学生进行基因组学和遗传学教育，重点是将科学与日常生活联系起来。