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Related Concept Videos

Natural Selection and Adaptation01:15

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural selection, a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology, is the mechanism by which evolution is driven, favoring organisms that are best adapted to their environments. This process enhances their chances of survival and reproduction. Adaptation, a key outcome of this process, involves genetic modifications that optimize an organism's functionality under specific environmental challenges, such as extreme cold or thinner air at high altitudes.
Beyond physical adaptations, psychological...
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Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...
What is Natural Selection?01:32

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...
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Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.Life is not fair. A deer grazing contentedly in a field can have her meal cut tragically short by a bolt of lightning. If the doomed doe is one of only three in the population, 1/3 of the population’s gene pool is lost. Random events like this can...
The Evidence for Evolution02:55

The Evidence for Evolution

Genetic variations accumulating within populations over generations give rise to biological evolution. Evolutionary changes can result in the formation of novel varieties and entire new species. These changes are responsible for the diverse forms of life inhabiting the planet. The evidence for evolution suggests that all living organisms descended from common ancestors.The collection of fossils within sedimentary rocks give a record of common ancestry and often depicts the history of evolution.

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Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat
06:03

Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat

Published on: September 20, 2016

A comparative method for studying adaptation to a randomly evolving environment.

Thomas F Hansen1, Jason Pienaar, Steven Hecht Orzack

  • 1Center for Evolutionary and Ecological Synthesis, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PB 1066, Blindern, 0316 Oslo, Norway. thomas.hansen@bio.uio.no

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|May 3, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Most phylogenetic methods fail to account for maladaptation. This study introduces a new comparative method using an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model to jointly estimate evolutionary and optimal regressions, correcting for maladaptation.

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Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
04:52

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations

Published on: February 3, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Phylogenetics
  • Quantitative genetics

Background:

  • Phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) are crucial for testing adaptive hypotheses in evolutionary biology.
  • Existing PCMs often assume evolutionary processes that do not align with adaptation towards an optimal state, leading to uncorrected maladaptation.
  • This results in an underestimated relationship between traits and environmental factors, known as shallow evolutionary regression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel comparative method that addresses the limitations of current phylogenetic methods in handling maladaptation.
  • To jointly estimate evolutionary regression, optimal regression, and phylogenetic inertia.
  • To account for traits adapting to an optimum influenced by continuous, dynamic predictor variables.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a comparative method based on the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) model of adaptive evolution.
  • The method jointly estimates parameters related to evolutionary regression, optimal regression, and phylogenetic inertia.
  • It models a single trait adapting to an optimum influenced by one or more continuous, randomly changing predictor variables.

Main Results:

  • The proposed method provides a more accurate estimation of the trait-environment relationship by correcting for maladaptation.
  • It successfully disentangles the effects of evolutionary processes, optimal selection, and phylogenetic inertia.
  • Demonstrates the ability to estimate both the evolutionary trajectory and the optimal state towards which a trait is evolving.

Conclusions:

  • The new Ornstein-Uhlenbeck-based method offers a significant advancement for phylogenetic comparative studies testing adaptive hypotheses.
  • It allows for a more robust understanding of evolutionary dynamics by correcting for maladaptation and estimating optimal trait values.
  • This approach enhances the accuracy of inferring relationships between traits and environmental factors in an evolutionary context.