Grantee Research Project Results

Phage-Mediated Transfer of Genes Between Bacterial Species

EPA Grant Number: R825348
Title: Phage-Mediated Transfer of Genes Between Bacterial Species
Investigators: Cohan, Frederick M.
Current Investigators: Cohan, Frederick M. , Berger, Evelyn , Mitrica, Ionel , Majewski, Jacek , Libsch, Jason , Palmisano, Margaret , Feldgarden, Michael , Palys, Thomas
Institution: Wesleyan University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: January 5, 1997 through January 4, 2000
Project Amount: $443,966
RFA: Exploratory Research - Environmental Biology (1996) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Aquatic Ecosystems , Biology/Life Sciences

Description:

This research program addresses the risk that transduction might disseminate an engineered DNA sequence from a genetically engineered microorganism into other species. The investigator proposes to use Bacillus subtilis and its close relatives as a model system to investigate the strength of natural barriers to transduction across species. This will first involve measuring the density of generalized transducing phage that can infect pairs of host species. Second, a phylogenetic approach will be used to study the diversity of soil phage. This will involve assaying soil phage for the presence of certain phage genes and then measuring sequence divergence among phage at the genes that they share. Based on the sequences of shared genes, an evolutionary tree of phage will be constructed.

This survey may provide genetic markers for readily identifying phage with a high potential for interspecies transduction. The evolutionary trees will be used to estimate the rate of migration of phage between localities and the rate of horizontal transmission of temperate phage. The size distributions of segments transduced by various phage will be measured. All of these approaches will provide data bearing on the potential of phage to introduce genes from one species into cells of other species. Finally, the research will investigate how the probability of integration of a donor DNA segment entering a cell by transduction is affected by donor-recipient sequence divergence. The research will test whether the log-linear relationship between the probability of integration and sequence divergence that was discovered for transformation also applies for transduction.

Publications and Presentations:

Publications have been submitted on this project: View all 9 publications for this project

Journal Articles:

Journal Articles have been submitted on this project: View all 6 journal articles for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

soil, water, genetics, microbes, ecological effects., RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Ecological Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, Chemistry, Ecology, Biology, Environmental Chemistry, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, exploratory research environmental biology, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecological Effects - Human Health, Genetics, Chemical Mixtures - Environmental Exposure & Risk, ecological effects, Bacillus subtilis, microbial, risk assessment, soil, DNA, microorganisms, gene transfer, phylogenetics, phage mediated, transduction, gene-environment interaction

Progress and Final Reports:

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.