18 October 2024
Michael Baym
Department of Biomedical Informatics
Harvard Medical School
We typically think of plasmids as vectors, whether they carry antibiotic resistance in the clinic or a synthetic gene in the lab. But a closer look reveals a world unto themselves. Plasmids themselves complete and evolve within and between their cellular hosts, forming their own ecosystem on a tiny scale. This talk will study some new experimental and theoretical insights into the lives of plasmids including competition, evolution within cells, parasitism, and gene drives.