PARENT SESSION
OOS 1: Genetic Explorations of the Seascape: Using Molecules and Experiments to Understand Marine Biodiversity.
Organized by: E Sotka and R Thacker
Monday, August 2, 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM, Meeting Room E 141 .

Molecular approaches and tools for characterzing marine plasmid distribution, diversity and function.

Sobecky, Patricia ^*,1, ¹ Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA

ABSTRACT- In contrast to the intensive efforts to catalogue, characterize and exploit aspects of the biodiversity of microorganisms occurring in natural habitats, there is only a rudimentary understanding of the abundance, distribution and diversity of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) extant in the horizontal gene pool (HGP) of microbial communities. MGEs consist of plasmids, bacteriophages and other elements that can either move on their own or use mobile plasmids and phages as vehicles for their dissemination. The prokaryotic HGP plays a vital and essential role in the evolution and adaptation of individual microorganisms and microbial communities by providing an accessible pool of mobile genes and recombination properties that facilitate the reshuffling, acquisition and exchange of genetic material. This talk will focus on the plasmid component of the HGP as these accessory elements can be thought of as the drivers of the HGP promoting the adaptation of microbial populations by facilitating lateral gene exchange. Recently, efforts have begun to focus on the characterization of, at the molecular level, plasmid populations occurring in a wider range of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Such studies are necessary to provide greater knowledge on the ecology of plasmids and their contributions to the genetic plasticity of microbial communities. In contrast to previously characterized clinical plasmids, it has often been difficult to determine the ecological function of plasmids isolated from marine ecosystems. High throughput DNA sequencing and gene sequence analyses have greatly facilitate the determinations of specific roles of marine plasmids by assigning putative function(s) to otherwise cryptic plasmids. In this talk, molecular techniques will be discussed along with a review of the current approaches and tools being used to address questions regarding plasmid distribution, diversity and function in marine microbial communities.

Key words: lateral gene transfer, horizontal gene pool, plasmid, adaptation