Rice University biologists, using an ingenious experiment that forced bacteria to compete in a head-to-head contest for evolutionary dominance, today offer the first glimpse of how individual genetic-level adaptations play out as Darwinian natural selection in large populations."One of our most surprising findings is that an estimated 20 million point mutations gave rise to just six populations that were capable of vying for dominance," said lead researcher Yousif Shamoo.
Rice's study involved the heat-loving bacteria G. stearothermophilus, which thrives at up to 73 degrees Celsius (163 F). They grew the bacteria for one month in fermentor, raising the temperature a half degree Celsius each day.
Over a span of 1,500 generations, the percentage of mutant strains inside the fermentor ebbed and flowed as the single-celled microbes competed for dominance. Eventually, one strain squeezed out almost all the competition by virtue of its ability to most efficiently metabolize food at high temperature.
The first of the six, dubbed Q199R, arose almost immediately, and was the dominant strain through the 500th generation. Around 62 degrees Celsius, the Q199R was unable to further cope with the rising temperature, and a new round of mutations occurred. Five new varieties – themselves mutant forms of Q199R – vied for final domination of the fermentor. Three of the five were driven to extinction within a couple of days, and the final two fought it out over the remaining three weeks of the test.
Over a span of 1,500 generations, the percentage of mutant strains inside the fermentor ebbed and flowed as the single-celled microbes competed for dominance. Eventually, one strain squeezed out almost all the competition by virtue of its ability to most efficiently metabolize food at high temperature.
The first of the six, dubbed Q199R, arose almost immediately, and was the dominant strain through the 500th generation. Around 62 degrees Celsius, the Q199R was unable to further cope with the rising temperature, and a new round of mutations occurred. Five new varieties – themselves mutant forms of Q199R – vied for final domination of the fermentor. Three of the five were driven to extinction within a couple of days, and the final two fought it out over the remaining three weeks of the test.
Shamoo said this strongly shows the dynamic nature of evolution at the molecular and atomic level.The paper will be published in the May 19th issue of Molecular Cell.
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