Adaptive evolution of cellular differentiation programs in the alpha-proteobacterium Hyphomonas neptunium (E04 (B05))

该项目的目标是了解环境条件如何塑造细菌细胞的发育程序，从而提高它们在生态位中的适应性和长期生存能力。为此，我们将比较海洋物种中新丝单胞菌和淡水物种新月形茎杆菌中控制细胞发育的信号网络的布局，这两种密切相关的alphaproteobacteria进化出了非常不同的生长和增殖模式。研究结果将指出监管途径中的共同设计原则，并有助于使两种系统之间的差异合理化。

The goal of this project is to understand how environmental conditions shape the develop-mental programs of bacterial cells, thereby enhancing their fitness and long-term survival in the niches they inhabit. To this end, we will compare the layouts of the signalling networks controlling cellular development in the marine species Hyphomonas neptunium and the freshwater species Caulobacter crescentus, two closely related alphaproteobacteria that have evolved very different modes of growth and proliferation. The results will pinpoint common design principles in the regulatory pathways and help rationalize the differences between the two systems.