Evolutionary dynamics of nascent multicellular lineages

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 292(2045)

Published: April 1, 2025

The evolution of multicellular organisms involves the emergence cellular collectives that eventually become units selection in their own right. process can be facilitated by ecological conditions impose heritable variance fitness on nascent collectives, with long-term persistence depending capacity competing lineages to transition reliably between soma- and germ-like stages proto-life cycles. Prior work experimental bacterial populations showed rapid increases collective-level fitness, switch life cycle phases being a particular focus selection. Here, we report experiments which most successful lineage from earlier study was further propagated for 10 generations under regimes required different investments soma-like phase. To explore adaptive significance switching, control included reliable transitioning abolished. proved central maintenance fitness. Moreover, non-switch treatment, where solutions producing robust enduring soma-phase were required, mutL-dependent switching emerged de novo. A newly developed computational pipeline (colgen) used display moment-by-moment evolutionary dynamics lineages, providing rare visual evidence roles chance, history Colgen, underpinned Bayesian model, propagate hundreds mutations back through temporal genealogical series, predict time points corresponding changes likely significance, one instance, via combination targeted sequencing, genetics analyses consequences, single mutation demonstrated. Overall, our results shed light mechanisms adapt new selective challenges demonstrate value genealogy-centred approaches investigating lineage-level

Language: Английский

---

Enabling evolvability to evolve

Science, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 387(6736), P. 825 - 826

Published: Feb. 20, 2025

A multilevel population architecture enables bacteria to evolve increased adaptability.

Language: Английский

---

Bring back the phenotype

New Phytologist, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: April 17, 2025

Summary When thinking about evolutionary change, many practicing biologists will focus on changes in allele frequencies over time. This gene‐centric view of evolution has strongly impacted how (and biological science general) is thought, taught, and funded. In this viewpoint, we join recent criticisms the call for reinstalling a phenotypic evolution. The assumptions view—enormous/nonstructured populations totally random interactions between genes, individuals, environments—are hard to imagine real world. A gene's effects phenotype fitness depend its with other genes (epistasis), microbiome, environment, it generations, populations, environments. Incorrectly, have been given an agency role natural selection that they do not possess: replicate, but variation or differential proliferation through their traits (these are characteristics units deemed ‘interactors’). Here, show necessary capture several widespread phenomena: epistasis, nongenetic inheritance, multilevel selection, niche construction plant–soil feedbacks, all which vast empirical evidence. Life marvelous, complex, certainly more than machinery genetic information.

Language: Английский

---

Charting the development and engineering of CRISPR base editors: lessons and inspirations

Cell chemical biology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: June 1, 2025

Language: Английский

---