Mathematical models and bioinformatic analyses of bacterial genome evolution

细菌是地球生物圈中至关重要的生物，它们分解并合成各种各样的化合物。有些细菌会引起疾病；另一些则被开发用于一系列生物技术应用。细菌具有在不断变化的环境中生存和繁衍的非凡能力。例如，面对抗生素的致病菌很容易进化出耐药性。随着气候变化的现实，我们预计细菌群落的结构将发生更迅速的变化，可能导致新的病原体的出现。这个项目的好处是发现细菌的遗传结构是如何赋予这种灵活性的，并帮助澳大利亚保持在生物信息学和数学生物学研究的前沿。

Bacteria are vital agents in earth's biosphere, breaking down and synthesising a wide variety of compounds. Some bacteria cause disease; others are exploited for a range of biotechnological applications. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to survive and thrive in changing conditions. For example, pathogenic bacteria confronted by antibiotics easily evolve resistance to them. With the reality of climate change, we expect more rapid shifts in the structure of bacterial communities, possibly leading to the emergence of new pathogens. The benefits of this project are to discover how the genetic structure of bacteria confer this flexibility, and to help keep Australia at the forefront of research in bioinformatics and mathematical biology.