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Related Concept Videos

The Evidence for Evolution

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.

Convergent Evolution

Convergent Evolution

Evolution shapes the features of organisms over time, ensuring that they are suited for the environments in which they live. Sometimes, selection pressure leads to the rise of similar but unrelated adaptations in organisms with no recent common ancestors, a process known as convergent evolution.

Eukaryotic Evolution

Eukaryotic Evolution

The endosymbiont theory is the most widely accepted theory of eukaryotic evolution; however, its progression is still somewhat debated. According to the nucleus-first hypothesis, the ancestral prokaryote first evolved a membrane to enclose DNA and form the nucleus. Conversely, the mitochondria-first hypothesis suggests that the nucleus was formed after endosymbiosis of mitochondria.
Contrary to the endosymbiont theory, the eukaryote-first hypothesis proposes that the simpler prokaryotic and...

Synteny and Evolution

Synteny and Evolution

John H. Renwick first coined the term “synteny” in 1971, which refers to the genes present on the same chromosomes, even if they are not genetically linked. The species with common ancestry tend to show conserved syntenic regions. Therefore, the concept of synteny is nowadays used to describe the evolutionary relationship between species.
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

While every living organism has a genome of some kind (be it RNA, or DNA), there is considerable variation in the sizes of these blueprints. One major factor that impacts genome size is whether the organism is prokaryotic or eukaryotic. In prokaryotes, the genome contains little to no non-coding sequence, such that genes are tightly clustered in groups or operons sequentially along the chromosome. Conversely, the genes in eukaryotes are punctuated by long stretches of non-coding sequence.

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Compost Microcosms as Microbially Diverse, Natural-like Environments for Microbiome Research in Caenorhabditis elegans

Compost Microcosms as Microbially Diverse, Natural-like Environments for Microbiome Research in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: September 13, 2022

Seven Billion Microcosms: Evolution within Human Microbiomes.

Tami D Lieberman^1,2

¹Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

|April 10, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Understanding bacterial colonization in the human microbiome is key for developing microbiome-based therapies. This research reconstructs bacterial lineage history within individuals to predict colonization potential.

Keywords:

evolution evolutionary biology genomics human microbiome intestinal colonization microbial ecology within-person evolution

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Last Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Compost Microcosms as Microbially Diverse, Natural-like Environments for Microbiome Research in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Published on: September 13, 2022

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Agar-Block Microcosms for Controlled Plant Tissue Decomposition by Aerobic Fungi

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Published on: February 3, 2011

Area of Science:

Microbiome research
Evolutionary biology
Systems biology

Background:

Microbiome-based therapies hold promise for treating diseases and promoting wellness.
Current limitations exist in predicting bacterial strain colonization and employing microbiome therapies effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

To understand how individual bacterial species and strains behave within the human microbiome.
To investigate bacterial niche ranges, survival strategies, and adaptation to individual hosts.
To develop predictive models for stable bacterial colonization.

Main Methods:

Employing system-level approaches to study the human microbiome.
Utilizing de novo mutations to track bacterial evolution.
Applying evolutionary inference to reconstruct bacterial lineage history within individuals.

Main Results:

Reconstruction of bacterial lineage histories within individuals.
Insights into the adaptation and survival strategies of bacterial strains.
Identification of factors influencing stable colonization.

Conclusions:

Advancing the understanding of bacterial behavior in the human microbiome.
Bridging the knowledge gap for the development of effective microbiome-based therapies.
Providing a foundation for predicting bacterial colonization potential.