17 research outputs found
Examining Epistatic and Environmental Effects Using an Alternative Formaldehyde Oxidation Pathway in Methtylobacterium Extorquens
Epistasis is the interaction of genes, particularly how the presence of a gene locus modifies the phenotype of other loci. Previous research in the lab studied the epistatic interactions of beneficial mutations that arose in an evolved isolate of Methylobacterium extorquens, a bacteria that has the ability to utilize one-carbon compounds as the sole source of energy. Four mutations were identified following the replacement of the methanopterin-dependent pathway of M. extorquens’ with a glutathione (GSH)-dependent pathway from Paracoccus denitrificans. The mutations were combined in all viable permutations on a genetic background that only contained the GSH-dependent pathway. We tested the fitness of each strain against the ancestral evolved isolate under two minimal media growth conditions: Hypho in flasks, the condition under which the original study that identified the mutations was conducted, and MPIPES, a more complete media, in sealed Balch tubes in which future experimental work will be performed. We expect to see similar epistatic interactions with diminishing returns as the original study found, suggesting minimal effect of these media conditions on epistasis. By better understanding gene-gene interactions in this system, we hope to lead to models capable of predicting adaptive routes through fitness landscapes underlying M. extorquens physiology
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SARS-CoV-2: Cross-scale Insights from Ecology and Evolution.
Ecological and evolutionary processes govern the fitness, propagation, and interactions of organisms through space and time, and viruses are no exception. While coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research has primarily emphasized virological, clinical, and epidemiological perspectives, crucial aspects of the pandemic are fundamentally ecological or evolutionary. Here, we highlight five conceptual domains of ecology and evolution - invasion, consumer-resource interactions, spatial ecology, diversity, and adaptation - that illuminate (sometimes unexpectedly) the emergence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We describe the applications of these concepts across levels of biological organization and spatial scales, including within individual hosts, host populations, and multispecies communities. Together, these perspectives illustrate the integrative power of ecological and evolutionary ideas and highlight the benefits of interdisciplinary thinking for understanding emerging viruses
Recommended from our members
SARS-CoV-2: Cross-scale Insights from Ecology and Evolution.
Ecological and evolutionary processes govern the fitness, propagation, and interactions of organisms through space and time, and viruses are no exception. While coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research has primarily emphasized virological, clinical, and epidemiological perspectives, crucial aspects of the pandemic are fundamentally ecological or evolutionary. Here, we highlight five conceptual domains of ecology and evolution - invasion, consumer-resource interactions, spatial ecology, diversity, and adaptation - that illuminate (sometimes unexpectedly) the emergence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We describe the applications of these concepts across levels of biological organization and spatial scales, including within individual hosts, host populations, and multispecies communities. Together, these perspectives illustrate the integrative power of ecological and evolutionary ideas and highlight the benefits of interdisciplinary thinking for understanding emerging viruses