Study of the ecology of the insertion element IS1071 and its contribution to microbial adaptation in a wide community

Horizontal gene transfer in microbial communities play an essential role in the adaptation of their community members and the community itself to environmental changes. Typical examples are adaptations that confer traits as antibiotic resistance, metal resistance and catabolism of xenobiotic organics. Among the vehicles that govern horizontal gene transfer are conjugative elements such as plasmids, and insertion (IS) elements. Conjugative elements transfer the adaptive traits between different organisms while IS elements can play a role in the acquisition of the traits by the conjugative elements accelerating the lateral transfer of these traits. While much information exists on the molecular mechanisms of gene acquisition governed by IS elements, less information exist, and this in contrast to plasmids, about their contribution to horizontal gene transfer and microbial adaptation in a wider community context. This project aims to acquire a better understanding of the contribution of the IS element IS1071, in genetic adaptation at the community level.