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Hypothesis: a Plastically Produced Phenotype Predicts Host Specialization and Can Precede Subsequent Mutations in
1Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA maxwell3@email.unc.edu.
Mbio
|November 15, 2018
Summary
Phenotypic plasticity, the ability to change traits, can drive evolution. This study shows that phage host range plasticity, influenced by host restriction-modification systems, predicts evolutionary outcomes and may be as important as mutation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Microbial genetics
Background:
- The role of phenotypic plasticity in evolutionary novelty is debated due to limited empirical evidence.
- Bacteriophages exhibit plastic host range adaptation when encountering host restriction-modification (R-M) systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the evolution of phage host range in the context of host R-M systems.
- To investigate the potential causal role of phenotypic plasticity in evolution.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling of phage evolution.
- Analysis of phage-host interactions involving R-M systems.
Main Results:
- Phages whose initial plastic adaptation (new methylation pattern) leads to a new host are disproportionately represented in the subsequent specialist population.
- The initial phage exhibiting plastic adaptation may not be genetically unique within the population.
Conclusions:
- Phenotypic plasticity can be a significant driver of evolutionary change, potentially on par with mutation.
- The phage-host R-M system provides a tractable model for experimentally testing "plasticity first" evolutionary hypotheses.
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