The prevalence and consequences of epistasis

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Evolutionary biologists have a long-standing interest in the genetics of adaptation. We aim to investigate a fundamental issue that has been the subject of substantial debate in this field: The importance of interactions between genes during adaptation. If such interactions are common, then different populations adapting to the same environmental stresses may achieve different genetic solutions. By contrast, if interactions are rare or unimportant, then evolution might be highly repeatable. We will ask whether genetic interactions are common, and whether these interactions have important consequences for the evolution of genomes. We will carry out our studies using laboratory populations of bacteria, which adapt in a matter of days or weeks, and whose genomes can be easily sequenced using modern technologies. Many of our experiments will use adaptation to antibiotics as a model for adaptive processes more generally; by using antibiotic selection, we can gain insight not only into basic evolutionary principles, but into the practical problem of the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Our proposed work will shed light onto the causes of repeatability (or lack thereof) in evolution.