Genome Sequence of Wolbachia/Drosophila Lateral Gene Transfer

细菌通常通过DNA从一种细菌到另一种细菌的移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都有从细菌到动物的LGT证据。这个项目的目标是研究果味果蝇的基因组变化，由于LGT从细菌沃尔巴克氏体。果蝇插入物和常驻细菌基因组的DNA将使用极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转移的DNA在苍蝇中的作用和影响。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。这些宿主包括寄生蠕虫和传播疾病的害虫，如蚊子和采采蝇。目前针对这些生物体的药物和杀虫剂可能对人类有毒，因为蠕虫/昆虫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于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。

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.