Population Biology of a Lateral Gene Transfer from Wolbachia to Drosophila ananassae

最近的研究表明，从细菌沃尔巴克氏体到它们的多细胞宿主的基因转移（横向基因转移，LGT）曾经被认为是罕见的，实际上是广泛的。这些事件的范围从短DNA片段的转移到几乎整个沃尔巴克氏体基因组插入果蝇基因组。这种LGTs的长期影响尚不清楚。这项工作将探讨的后果，LGT在D。ananassae。本文将探讨以下问题：1）细菌基因转入D. ananassae？2)在自然群体和实验群体中转移基因的频率是多少？3)插入物的适合性和功能后果是什么？ 鉴于数百万物种感染了沃尔巴克氏体和其他细胞内细菌，LGT对动物遗传能力的贡献可能是显著的。因此，重要的是评估细菌基因一旦转移如何改变，以及它们如何对动物产生影响？生化能力这项建议的教育部分建立在以前的工作开发一个高中实验室系列使用沃尔巴克氏体，以促进跨生物学科的综合教育方法，创造一个机会，让学生在学习的同时作出新的科学发现。

Recent work has shown that transfer of genes (lateral gene transfer, LGT) from the bacteria Wolbachia to their multicellular hosts, once thought rare, is in fact widespread. These events range from the transfer of short DNA fragments to the insertion of nearly the entire Wolbachia genome into the genome of the fly, Drosophila ananassae. The long-term effects of such LGTs are unknown. This work will explore the consequences of LGT in D. ananassae. The following questions will be addressed: 1) How have bacterial genes evolved since transferring into D. ananassae? 2) What is the frequency of transferred genes in natural and experimental populations? 3) What are the fitness and functional consequences of the insert? Given that millions of species are infected with Wolbachia and other intracellular bacteria, the contribution of LGT to the genetic capabilities of animals could be significant. It is therefore important to assess how bacterial genes change once transferred, and how they contribute to animals? biochemical abilities. The educational component of this proposal builds on previous work developing a high school laboratory series using Wolbachia to promote an integrative educational approach across biological disciplines, creating an opportunity for students to make new scientific discoveries while learning.