Sex and bottlenecks: understanding the evolutionary dynamics of bacterial adaptation (2015-2019)

Bacteria can rapidly adapt to changing environments, often with devastating consequences for humans. However, this adaptive evolution is often limited by strong reductions in population size, in particular during transmission from one host to another. I will investigate whether recombination in bacteria can overcome the limits that such bottlenecks impose on the rate of adaptation. To this end, I will construct mathematical models and complement them with evolution experiments in bacterial populations. My results will generate fundamental insights into the role of recombination in bacterial evolution and will thus provide guidance for developing management strategies for bacterial pathogens.