The Horizontal Gene Pool: an ESF workshop summary
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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays
Published on: November 12, 2012
Ellen L Zechner1, Mark J Bailey
1Institute für Molekularbiologie, Biochemie, und Mikrobiologie, Universität Graz, Graz, Austria. ellen.zechner@uni-graz.at
Abstract:
The European Science Foundation (ESF) funds a limited number of exploratory workshops each year that enable scientists to meet and develop plans for a program of integrated research which would benefit from a coordinated European effort. In summer 2003, the Standing Committee for Life and Environmental Sciences (LESC) sponsored such a workshop called The Horizontal Gene Pool: The Functional Role of Mobile Genetic Information--How Bacteria Perceive, Sample, and Utilize Genetic Elements in evolution and Local Adaptation. The workshop took place at St. Catherine's College, Oxford, UK. Its purpose was to identify how recent advances in the application of genomics and microbial ecology can be harnessed to determine the genetic mechanisms that underpin the biological role of the horizontal gene pool. Scientific excellence at the workshop was contributed by senior scientists and young investigators from research institutes located in nine European countries.
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Horizontal Gene Transfer
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms
Conjugation
Evolution of Microbial Genome
Gene Flow
Transduction

