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Selection and evolution of bacteriophages in cellstat.

¹Department of Environmental Chemistry, Saitama University, Japan.

Advances in Biophysics

|January 1, 1989

Summary

Researchers developed a cellstat system for studying bacteriophage evolution. This system allows for precise environmental control, revealing the crucial role of slightly deleterious mutants in molecular evolution and enabling evolutionary molecular engineering.

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Area of Science:

Molecular Evolution
Virology
Biophysics
Systems Biology

Background:

Understanding molecular evolution requires experimental systems that mimic natural selection pressures.
Existing theories, like Eigen's quasi-species theory, need experimental validation with real-world parameters.
Bacteriophages offer a tractable model for studying evolution due to their rapid replication and genetic simplicity.

Purpose of the Study:

To establish a laboratory experimental system for a biophysical approach to molecular evolution.
To provide experimental parameters for theories of molecular evolution, particularly Eigen's quasi-species theory.
To investigate bacteriophage population dynamics and evolutionary processes under controlled conditions.

Main Methods:

Continuous culture of bacteriophages (fd, Q beta, and chimeras) in a novel 'cellstat' fermenter.
Theoretical analysis using computer simulations of phage population dynamics.
Experimental determination of kinetic constants, including selection coefficients, via competition and biological relaxation experiments.

Main Results:

The cellstat system enables stable continuous culture of bacteriophages, free from host cell mutations.
A local landscape of the selection coefficient near the fd phage sequence was experimentally mapped.
Slightly deleterious mutants were confirmed to play a significant role in molecular evolution.

Conclusions:

The cellstat is a suitable experimental system for studying bacteriophage selection and evolution.
Experimental data supports the importance of genetic drift and slightly deleterious mutations in evolution.
The study proposes a framework for evolutionary molecular engineering using the cellstat and bacteriophages.

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