Search results for "Experimental evolution"
showing 10 items of 87 documents
Multiple infection dynamics has pronounced effects on the fitness of RNA viruses
2001
Several factors play a role during the replication and transmission of RNA viruses. First, as a consequence of their enormous mutation rate, complex mixtures of genomes are generated immediately after infection of a new host. Secondly, differences in growth and competition rates drive the selection of certain genetic variants within an infected host. Thirdly, but not less important, a random sampling occurs at the moment of viral infectious passage from an infected to a healthy host. In addition, the availability of hosts also influences the fate of a given viral genotype. When new hosts are scarce, different viral genotypes might infect the same host, adding an extra complexity to the comp…
RNA viruses: a bridge between life and artificial life
1995
RNA viruses can be an adequate bridge between life and artificial life. Under experimental conditions the parameters that in last instance are responsible for the evolution of replicons resembling primitive life forms can be easily studied. One year of a RNA virus evolving may be equivalent to one million years of an evolving DNA-based entity. High mutation rates as well as very short life cycles permit the capability of observing evolutionary effects in the lifetime of a human observer. Another important feature of RNA viruses, functionally related to its mutation rate, is the genome length, which ranges between 3 and 30 Kb, probably the shortest lengths with the highest estimated mutation…
EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION OF RNA VERSUS DNA VIRUSES
2011
Based on their extremely high mutation rates, RNA viruses have been traditionally considered as the fastest evolving entities in nature. However, recent work has revealed that, despite their greater replication fidelity, single-stranded (ss) DNA viruses can evolve fast in a similar way. To further investigate this issue, we have compared the rates of adaptation and molecular evolution of ssRNA and ssDNA viruses under highly controlled laboratory conditions using the bacteriophages ΦX174, G4, f1, Qβ, SP, and MS2 as model systems. Our results indicate that ssRNA phages evolve faster than ssDNA phages under strong selective pressure, and that their extremely high mutation rates appear to be op…
Roles of adenine methylation and genetic mutations in adaptation to different temperatures in Serratia marcescens
2019
AbstractEpigenetic modifications can contribute to adaptation, but the relative contributions of genetic and epigenetic variation are unknown. Previous studies on the role of epigenetic changes in adaptation in eukaryotes have nearly exclusively focused on cytosine methylation (m5C), while prokaryotes exhibit a richer system of methyltransferases targetting adenines (m6A) or cytosines (m4C, m5C). DNA methylation in prokaryotes has many roles, but its potential role in adaptation still needs further investigation. We collected phenotypic, genetic, and epigenetic data using single molecule real-time sequencing of clones of the bacterium Serratia marcescens that had undergone experimental evol…
Selection analysis on the rapid evolution of a secondary sexual trait
2015
Evolutionary analyses of population translocations (experimental or accidental) have been important in demonstrating speed of evolution because they subject organisms to abrupt environmental changes that create an episode of selection. However, the strength of selection in such studies is rarely measured, limiting our understanding of the evolutionary process. This contrasts with long-term, mark–recapture studies of unmanipulated populations that measure selection directly, yet rarely reveal evolutionary change. Here, we present a study of experimental evolution of male colour in Trinidadian guppies where we tracked both evolutionary change and individual-based measures of selection. Guppie…
Sexual conflict drives micro- and macroevolution of sexual dimorphism in immunity
2021
Abstract Background Sexual dimorphism in immunity is believed to reflect sex differences in reproductive strategies and trade-offs between competing life history demands. Sexual selection can have major effects on mating rates and sex-specific costs of mating and may thereby influence sex differences in immunity as well as associated host–pathogen dynamics. Yet, experimental evidence linking the mating system to evolved sexual dimorphism in immunity are scarce and the direct effects of mating rate on immunity are not well established. Here, we use transcriptomic analyses, experimental evolution and phylogenetic comparative methods to study the association between the mating system and sexua…
r- and K-selection in experimental populations of vesicular stomatitis virus.
2002
Here we explore the adaptation of vesicular stomatitis RNA virus to different population densities and the existence of a trade-off between r- and K-selection. Increasing population density represents a challenging special situation for viruses, since different selective pressures arise depending upon the number of available host cells per virus. Adaptation to low density represents a prototypical case of r-selection, where the optimal evolutionary solution should be a high replication rate. Adaptation to high density represents a case of K-selection. In this case, genotypes optimally exploiting the resources, instead of faster replicating ones, should be selected. Five independent populati…
Mode of selection and experimental evolution of antiviral drugs resistance in vesicular stomatitis virus
2004
Abstract The possession of an antiviral resistance mutation benefits a virus when the corresponding antiviral is present. But does the resistant virus pay a fitness cost when the antiviral is absent? Would an evolutionary history of association between a genotype and a resistance mutation overcome this cost by changes compensating the harmful side-effect of resistance mutations? Are combined therapies more effective against the rise of resistant viruses or against evolutionary compensations? To explore all these questions, we took an experimental evolution approach. After selecting vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) populations able to replicate under increasing concentrations of ribavirin an…
Evolutionary history conditions the timing of transmission in vesicular stomatitis virus.
2001
It has been postulated that early transmitted viruses would evolve to be more virulent than late transmitted ones. The reason for this prediction is that early transmission selects for rapid viral replication and, consequently, rapid host death, whereas late transmission would select for slow-replicating viruses that permit longer survival to the host. To test this prediction, experimental lineages of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) had been adapted to three different transmission dynamics during more than 100 generations. Transmission dynamic differed in the stage of infection at which transmission took place: early, intermediate or late. Regardless the timing of transmission imposed duri…
The effect of co- and superinfection on the adaptive dynamics of vesicular stomatitis virus
2006
In many infectious diseases, hosts are often simultaneously infected with several genotypes of the same pathogen. Much theoretical work has been done on modelling multiple infection dynamics, but empirical evidences are relatively scarce. Previous studies have demonstrated that coinfection allows faster adaptation than single infection in RNA viruses. Here, we use experimental populations of the vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus derived from an infectious cDNA, to show that superinfection dynamics promotes faster adaptation than single infection. In addition, we have analysed two different periodicities of multiple infection, daily and separated 5 days in time. Daily multiple infections al…