The only constant is change: ecology and evolution of phage-host interactions in a model ecosystem

微生物支撑着地球上的生命，但我们对它们的多样性和活动的了解受到限制，因为我们无法在实验室中培养出大多数微生物。最近，新技术已经出现，可以通过直接从环境中测序DNA和RNA来获取所有微生物的遗传信息。在这项研究中，我们将进一步发展这些前沿技术，促进澳大利亚这一新的科学领域。我们将把这些技术应用于参与废水处理的微生物群落，以了解微生物与感染它们的病毒之间的相互作用。了解这种相互作用将对优化这些治疗过程具有重要意义。

Microorganisms underpin life on Earth, but our understanding of their diversity and activity is limited by our inability to grow most of them in the laboratory. Recently, new techniques have emerged that allow access to the genetic information of all microorganisms by directly sequencing DNA and RNA from the environment. In this research we will further develop these frontier technologies, promoting this new area of science in Australia. We will apply these techniques to microbial communities involved in wastewater treatment in order to understand the interactions between microorganisms and the viruses that infect them. Understanding this interaction will have important implications for optimising these treatment processes.