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Related Experiment Videos

Evolution of a bacteria/plasmid association.

J E Bouma1, R E Lenski

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine 92717.

Nature
|September 22, 1988
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Plasmids can initially harm bacteria, but adaptation occurs over time. After 500 generations with antibiotics, the bacterial host evolved, making the plasmid beneficial for bacterial fitness.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Bacterial plasmids can impact host fitness, often negatively in the absence of specific selective pressures.
  • Previous research indicates plasmid carriage can reduce bacterial fitness, especially without antibiotic resistance genes.
  • Limited studies have explored fitness partitioning between plasmids and their bacterial hosts during evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the co-evolution of a bacterial host and a plasmid over 500 generations.
  • To determine how host genome adaptation influences the fitness effects of plasmid carriage.
  • To assess if plasmids themselves adapt to their bacterial hosts.

Main Methods:

  • Culturing *Escherichia coli* B with the non-conjugative plasmid pACYC184 for 500 generations under antibiotic selection.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessing the fitness of evolved host-plasmid combinations by competing them against a baseline strain.
  • Comparing the fitness of evolved hosts carrying the ancestral plasmid versus their plasmid-free counterparts.

    • Main Results:

    • Initial plasmid carriage reduced *Escherichia coli* B fitness.
    • After 500 generations of antibiotic selection, the bacterial host genome adapted.
    • The evolved host carrying the ancestral plasmid showed increased fitness compared to its plasmid-free counterpart, indicating host adaptation rather than plasmid adaptation.

    Conclusions:

    • Bacterial host genomes can adapt to mitigate the initial fitness costs of plasmid carriage.
    • Evolutionary adaptation can shift the fitness effect of a plasmid from detrimental to beneficial for the bacterial host.
    • This study highlights host-driven adaptation in bacterial-plasmid associations.