Adaptation by DNA download: Experimental evolution of a pangenome

这个项目旨在了解当微生物可以直接从周围环境或从其他类型的细菌下载新基因时，它们是如何适应的。具体地说，拟议的研究将对水平转移的遗传变异的适合度影响进行最大规模的测量，以发现这些基因如何与环境和其他基因相互作用。该项目有望在微生物进化和微生物组科学领域产生新的知识。这项前沿研究的好处将是加强澳大利亚在这些快速发展的领域的研究能力，并培养新一代跨学科科学家。

This project aims to understand how microbes adapt when they can directly “download" new genes from their surrounding environment, or from other types of bacteria. Specifically, the proposed research will carry out the largest-scale measurements of the fitness effects of horizontally transferred genetic variation, to discover how each of these genes interacts with the environment, and with other genes. This project is expected to generate new knowledge in the fields of microbial evolution and microbiome science. The benefits of this cutting-edge research will be to strengthen Australia’s research capacity in these rapidly developing fields and to train a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists.