Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

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...

Inclusive Fitness

Inclusive Fitness

Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.

Catalytically Perfect Enzymes

Catalytically Perfect Enzymes

The theory of catalytically perfect enzymes was first proposed by W.J. Albery and J. R. Knowles in 1976. These enzymes catalyze biochemical reactions at high-speed. Their catalytic efficiency values range from 108-109 M-1s-1. These enzymes are also called 'diffusion-controlled' as the only rate-limiting step in the catalysis is that of the substrate diffusion into the active site. Examples include triose phosphate isomerase, fumarase, and superoxide dismutase.

Introduction to Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis

Introduction to Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis

For many years, scientists thought that enzyme-substrate binding took place in a simple "lock-and-key" fashion. This model stated that the enzyme and substrate fit together perfectly in one instantaneous step. However, current research supports a more refined view scientists call induced fit. The induced-fit model expands upon the lock-and-key model by describing a more dynamic interaction between enzyme and substrate. As the enzyme and substrate come together, their interaction causes a mild...

Thermodynamics: Activity Coefficient

Thermodynamics: Activity Coefficient

Activity is the measure of the effective concentration of the species in solution. It can be expressed as the product of the molar concentration of the species and its activity coefficient. The activity coefficient is a dimensionless quantity and depends on the total ionic strength of the solution.
The activity coefficient is a measure of the deviation from ideal behavior. When the ionic strength of the solution is minimal, the activity coefficient of an ionic species is close to unity, making...

Induced-fit Model

Induced-fit Model

Most chemical reactions in cells require enzymes—biological catalysts that speed up the reaction without being consumed or permanently changed. They reduce the activation energy needed to convert the reactants into products. Enzymes are proteins, that usually work by binding to a substrate—a reactant molecule that they act upon.
Enzymes exhibit substrate specificity, meaning that they can only bind to certain substrates. This is mainly determined by the shape and chemical characteristics of...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Behavioural and molecular endophenotypes in psychotic disorders reveal heritable abnormalities in glutamatergic neurotransmission.

Translational psychiatry·2015

Same author

Assessment of coyote-wolf-dog admixture using ancestry-informative diagnostic SNPs.

Molecular ecology·2013

Same author

Speed of facial affect intensity recognition as an endophenotype of first-episode psychosis and associated limbic-cortical grey matter systems.

Psychological medicine·2012

Same author

Experimental evolution: Replicating history.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2011

Same author

Nucleotide variations in the lxd region of Drosophila melanogaster: characterization of a candidate modifier of lifespan.

Gene·2002

Same author

A new lump.

The British journal of radiology·2002

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Enzyme activity and fitness: Evolution in solution.

D E Dykhuizen¹, A M Dean

¹Daniel Dykhuizen is at the Dept of Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|January 15, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study experimentally verifies a model linking molecular phenotypes to fitness, simplifying the understanding of natural selection. It demonstrates that genotype-fitness relationships can be less complex than previously assumed.

More Related Videos

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing

Published on: July 3, 2016

Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Published on: June 14, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing

A Protocol for Functional Assessment of Whole-Protein Saturation Mutagenesis Libraries Utilizing High-Throughput Sequencing

Published on: July 3, 2016

Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Published on: June 14, 2024

Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Molecular biology
Systems biology

Background:

Natural selection is a key evolutionary driver.
Understanding the link between molecular phenotypes and fitness is crucial.
Theoretical models often assume complex genotype-fitness relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally test a theoretical model linking molecular phenotypes to fitness.
To demonstrate that genotype-fitness relationships can be simplified.
To study natural selection as an end in itself.

Main Methods:

Utilized metabolic control theory to connect enzyme activity with metabolic flux.
Assumed fitness is directly proportional to metabolic flux.
Experimentally tested the model using lactose metabolism in E. coli in chemostats.

Main Results:

Successfully verified the theoretical model through experimental data.
Demonstrated predictable relationships between molecular traits and fitness.
Observed properties of natural selection within the experimental system.

Conclusions:

The study provides experimental validation for a simplified model of genotype-fitness relationships.
Metabolic control theory offers a framework for understanding natural selection at the molecular level.
The research simplifies the complexity often attributed to the genotype-fitness interface in evolutionary studies.