The Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) awarded Ryo Miyazaki and his international research team for their proposal, “Impact of horizontal gene transfer on natural ecosystems”.

Dr. Ryo Miyazaki, researcher in the Bioproduction Research Institute of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), and his international collaborators, Dr. Philipp Engel, assistant professor in the Department of Fundamental Microbiology at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and Dr. Alvaro Sanchez, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University (US), have received a Young Investigator Grant 2016 from HFSP.

HFSP is an international program of research support implemented by the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) based in Strasbourg, France. Its aims are to promote intercontinental collaboration and training in cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research focused on the life sciences.

HFSPO is awarding about 34 million USD to the 32 winning teams of the 2016 competition for the HFSP Research Grants. In 2016, 7 Young Investigator Grants and 25 Program Grants were awarded from a total of 871 submissions. As one of the winners of the prestigious and highly competitive HFSP Young Investigator Grants, the team led by Ryo Miyazaki receives 1.05 million USD over three years.

Left to right: Ryo Miyazaki (AIST), Philipp Engel (University of Lausanne), Alvaro Sanchez (Yale University)

The goal of the Miyazaki team is to unveil evolutionary and ecological roles of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in natural ecosystems. HGT is a genetic process of microorganisms to transfer genes across phylogenetic lineages. It is believed to be promiscuous in nature and one of the major driving forces for microbial evolution. However, little is known about the frequency of HGT and its contribution to structures, interactions, and functions of natural microbial communities. Using gut microbiota of honey bees as a model ecosystem, they will combine genomics, experimental, and theoretical approaches and investigate dynamics, functions, and consequences of HGT in the bee gut microbiota. The project will lead to novel insights into eco-evolutionary dynamics by incorporating HGT into microbial community dynamics.