Integron metagenomics

This work focuses on integrons - genetic elements found in chromosomes of many bacteria that help them to acquire genes from other bacteria and thus to evolve much more rapidly than they would through the classical Darwinian mode of mutation and selection. Integrons have attracted attention because they are the cause of much of the alarming spread of antibiotic resistance, in particular resistance to multiple antibiotics, among bacteria harmful to humans and animals. Perhaps 100 different genes coding for resistance to antibiotics have now been detected on integrons, and there is reason to believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Integrons are almost certainly also involved in helping harmless bacteria and those which might be helpful (in decontamination of toxic wastes, for instance) to adapt to their special environments. The theory which this application tests is that genes in integrons are easily exchanged amongst bacteria of all types, and collectively comprise a ¿metagenome¿, whose dimensions and character we can map through the genomic technology we will employ, isolating and sequencing integrons directly from environmental DNA samples. The database we assemble will be invaluable in developing methods to monitor microbial population and their potential for causing disease.