Experimental evolution of bet hedging Export

@article{citeulike:6071171, abstract = {Bet hedging—stochastic switching between phenotypic states1, 2, 3—is a canonical example of an evolutionary adaptation that facilitates persistence in the face of fluctuating environmental conditions. Although bet hedging is found in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, direct evidence for an adaptive origin of this behaviour is lacking11. Here we report the de novo evolution of bet hedging in experimental bacterial populations. Bacteria were subjected to an environment that continually favoured new phenotypic states. Initially, our regime drove the successive evolution of novel phenotypes by mutation and selection; however, in two (of 12) replicates this trend was broken by the evolution of bet-hedging genotypes that persisted because of rapid stochastic phenotype switching. Genome re-sequencing of one of these switching types revealed nine mutations that distinguished it from the ancestor. The final mutation was both necessary and sufficient for rapid phenotype switching; nonetheless, the evolution of bet hedging was contingent upon earlier mutations that altered the relative fitness effect of the final mutation. These findings capture the adaptive evolution of bet hedging in the simplest of organisms, and suggest that risk-spreading strategies may have been among the earliest evolutionary solutions to life in fluctuating environments.}, author = {Beaumont, Hubertus J. E. and Gallie, Jenna and Kost, Christian and Ferguson, Gayle C. and Rainey, Paul B.}, citeulike-article-id = {6071171}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08504}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08504}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19890329}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=19890329}, day = {05}, doi = {10.1038/nature08504}, issn = {0028-0836}, journal = {Nature}, keywords = {adaptation, bet, evolution, experimental, hedging, phenotype, stochastic, switching}, month = {November}, number = {7269}, pages = {90--93}, posted-at = {2009-11-06 12:56:20}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Nature Publishing Group}, title = {Experimental evolution of bet hedging }, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08504}, volume = {462}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:6071171 L3 - citeulike-article-id:6071171 N2 - Bet hedging—stochastic switching between phenotypic states1, 2, 3—is a canonical example of an evolutionary adaptation that facilitates persistence in the face of fluctuating environmental conditions. Although bet hedging is found in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, direct evidence for an adaptive origin of this behaviour is lacking11. Here we report the de novo evolution of bet hedging in experimental bacterial populations. Bacteria were subjected to an environment that continually favoured new phenotypic states. Initially, our regime drove the successive evolution of novel phenotypes by mutation and selection; however, in two (of 12) replicates this trend was broken by the evolution of bet-hedging genotypes that persisted because of rapid stochastic phenotype switching. Genome re-sequencing of one of these switching types revealed nine mutations that distinguished it from the ancestor. The final mutation was both necessary and sufficient for rapid phenotype switching; nonetheless, the evolution of bet hedging was contingent upon earlier mutations that altered the relative fitness effect of the final mutation. These findings capture the adaptive evolution of bet hedging in the simplest of organisms, and suggest that risk-spreading strategies may have been among the earliest evolutionary solutions to life in fluctuating environments. IS - 7269 JF - Nature SN - 0028-0836 EP - 93 TI - Experimental evolution of bet hedging PB - Nature Publishing Group VL - 462 SP - 90 KW - adaptation KW - bet KW - evolution KW - experimental KW - hedging KW - phenotype KW - stochastic KW - switching AU - Beaumont, Hubertus AU - Gallie, Jenna AU - Kost, Christian AU - Ferguson, Gayle AU - Rainey, Paul PY - 2009/11/05/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08504 ER -