Toward a Functional Genetics of Adaptation: Insights From Microbial Experimental Evolution

A general theory of adaptation is one that accounts for both the quantitative and functional properties of adaptive evolution. To date, the field has focused more on the former and less on the latter. Here, I build on the results of adaptive laboratory evolution experiments in microbes to present a sketch for a functional theory of adaptation built around the idea that the primary source of selection in the initial stages of adaptation involves rapid re-growth in the presence of stress. Consequently, the genes targeted during adaptation are often those involved in the regulation of gene expression, including global regulators associated with managing the stress response. These mutations, especially those involving high level gene regulation, are often highly pleiotropic, in contrast to the expectation derived from the quantitative theory of adaptation. Whether this theory can be used to make sense of adaptation more generally beyond microbial evolution experiments remains an open issue.