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Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
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Experimental evolution of multicellularity using microbial pseudo-organisms.

David C Queller1, Joan E Strassmann

  • 1Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899, USA.

Biology Letters
|September 28, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Evolutionary transitions to multicellularity require controlling internal conflicts. This study proposes an experimental method using microbial pseudo-organisms to test how life cycles maintain cooperation and prevent cheating mutations.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Major evolutionary transitions, such as the emergence of multicellularity, necessitate the suppression of internal conflicts.
  • Genetically identical clones minimize cellular conflicts in multicellular organisms, but cheating mutations pose a persistent challenge.
  • Life cycle characteristics significantly influence the success of cooperation within developing multicellular entities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and present an experimental evolution method for investigating the control of internal conflicts during the transition to multicellularity.
  • To test the impact of specific life cycle features on maintaining cooperation in microbial pseudo-organisms.
  • To explore how different life cycles, including hypothetical ones, can favor cooperation.

Main Methods:

  • Constructing multicellular pseudo-organisms from microorganisms to serve as experimental models.
  • Evolving these pseudo-organisms under controlled, artificial life cycles.
  • Implementing structured reproduction (small propagule size) to reduce within-individual genetic variation.
  • Implementing structured growth to enhance local relatedness within pseudo-organism bodies.

Main Results:

  • The proposed experimental evolution method allows for the investigation of cooperation maintenance under varying life cycle conditions.
  • The experiments can effectively test the role of life cycle features like structured reproduction and growth in promoting cooperation.
  • This approach enables the study of cooperation dynamics even in life cycles not currently observed in nature.

Conclusions:

  • The experimental evolution framework offers a novel approach to understanding the evolutionary stability of multicellularity.
  • Life cycle design is a critical factor in mitigating conflicts and promoting cooperation in emerging multicellular life forms.
  • This method provides a powerful tool for exploring the evolution of cooperation across diverse biological systems.