( ut its impact in nature current comput...)Researchers develop way to calculate speed of bacterial sex

ut its impact in nature, current computer models of conjugation were pretty basic," said Ginn. UC-Davis researchers set out to build a better model that incorporated the experiences of bacteria in nature, such as wait times associated with conjugations, bacterial cell motion and transport in ground water, and the colonization of soil surfaces by bacterial cells.

Using a previously established conceptual framework of conjugation processes in an isolated environment, researchers created a new mathematical model of bacterial transport and conjugation that focused on subsurface bacteria colonizing surfaces, such as sand and soil grains. The UC-Davis research was funded by the National Science Foundation.

The new model was then used to re-interpret previously published conjugation data. The findings revealed that bacterial transport and colonization of surfaces is as important a controlling factor for gene spread as was the rate of conjugation itself.

It is important to consider all natural processes together when trying to predict rates of gene transfer, said Ginn.

"The model gives us a new tool for designing new experiments that reflect gene transfer in the real world, including such things as transport of cells in porous media of soils and aquifers," explained Massoudieh. "It also can be used for ‘extrapolative?modeling to predict rates of gene transfer in certain cases, mainly environmental science scenarios, but also with relevance to some medical scenarios."
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Source:American Society of Agronomy

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