Experimental Evolutionary Studies of Temperature Adaptation: Evolution in a Constant Thermal Environment

该项目研究了在恒温条件下生活数千代的细菌种群的长期进化和遗传变化。pi将决定适应这些恒定环境的结果，特别是相对适应度和生长效率的增加。pi还将检查这些变化是否伴随着在其他热环境中的功能丧失，也就是说，细菌可以生长和生产的温度范围是否下降，以及它们在其他热环境中的适应性和效率是否比它们培养的温度更低。pi将对两组细菌谱系进行这些测量，一组在37℃下培养2万代，另一组在适应其他热环境后在37℃下培养2000代。这些研究结果将为预测生物系统对全球气候变化的响应和有关环境适应的一般进化理论提供重要的实验检验。

This project examines long-term evolutionary and genetic changes inpopulations of bacteria living for thousands of generations in constantthermal conditions. The PIs will determine the consequences of adaptation tothese constant environments, specifically, the increase in relative fitnessand efficiency of growth. The PIs will also examine whether these changes areaccompanied by loss of function in other thermal environments, that is,whether the range of temperatures over which the bacteria can grow andreproduce declines and whether they become less fit and less efficient inother thermal environments than that in which they are cultured. The PIs willmake these measurements on two sets of bacterial lineages, one that hasbeen cultured at 37 C for 20,000 generations and another that will becultured at 37 C for 2,000 generations, after having adapted to otherthermal environments. The results of these studies will provide importantexperimental tests of predictions for the responses of biological systemsto global climate change and for general evolutionary theory concerningenvironmental adaptation.