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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...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 3, 2026

Procedure for Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Microorganisms Using a Chemostat
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Management-driven evolution in a domesticated ecosystem.

Vigdis Vandvik1, Joachim P Töpper, Zoë Cook

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Bergen, , Bergen, Norway.

Biology Letters
|February 14, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Human land use has shaped ecosystems, leading to evolutionary changes in plants like Calluna vulgaris. Smoke-induced germination in this species evolved in response to historical fire regimes in heathlands.

Keywords:
coastal heathlandcultural landscapefiregermination cuessmoke-induced germination

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Conservation Science

Background:

  • Domesticated ecosystems, shaped by millennia of human land-use, show documented anthropogenic imprints on biodiversity and function.
  • The evolutionary consequences of human activities in these semi-natural ecosystems remain largely enigmatic.
  • Calluna vulgaris, a keystone species in European coastal heathlands, exhibits smoke-adapted germination, a trait common in fire-prone environments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the smoke-induced germination trait in Calluna vulgaris is an ancestral characteristic or an evolutionary response to anthropogenic fire regimes.
  • To determine if evolutionary imprints of human land-use are evident in semi-natural ecosystems.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of Calluna vulgaris populations from traditionally burnt coastal heathlands and habitats with infrequent natural fires.
  • Assessing the presence or absence of smoke-induced germination across different populations.

Main Results:

  • Smoke-induced germination was present in Calluna vulgaris populations from historically burnt coastal heathlands.
  • This smoke-adapted germination trait was lacking in populations from habitats with infrequent natural fires.
  • The findings demonstrate evolutionary imprints of human land-use on Calluna vulgaris.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides evidence that the smoke-induced germination trait in Calluna vulgaris is an evolutionary adaptation to anthropogenic fire regimes in domesticated ecosystems.
  • Understanding the evolutionary consequences of historical human impacts is crucial for effective conservation and management of semi-natural landscapes.