Fisher Kaitlin J, Lang Gregory I
Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015, USA.
Fungal Genet Biol. 2016 Sep;94:88-94. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2016.06.007. Epub 2016 Jun 30.
Historically, evolutionary biology has been considered an observational science. Examining populations and inferring evolutionary histories mold evolutionary theories. In contrast, laboratory evolution experiments make use of the amenability of traditional model organisms to study fundamental processes underlying evolution in real time in simple, but well-controlled, environments. With advances in high-throughput biology and next generation sequencing, it is now possible to propagate hundreds of parallel populations over thousands of generations and to quantify precisely the frequencies of various mutations over time. Experimental evolution combines the ability to simultaneously monitor replicate populations with the power to vary individual parameters to test specific evolutionary hypotheses, something that is impractical or infeasible in natural populations. Many labs are now conducting laboratory evolution experiments in nearly all model systems including viruses, bacteria, yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies. Among these systems, fungi occupy a unique niche: with a short generation time, small compact genomes, and sexual cycles, fungi are a particularly valuable and largely untapped resource for propelling future growth in the field of experimental evolution. Here, we describe the current state of fungal experimental evolution and why fungi are uniquely positioned to answer many of the outstanding questions in the field. We also review which fungal species are most well suited for experimental evolution.
从历史上看，进化生物学一直被视为一门观察性科学。通过研究种群并推断进化历史来塑造进化理论。相比之下，实验室进化实验利用传统模式生物的易操作性，在简单但可控的环境中实时研究进化的基本过程。随着高通量生物学和下一代测序技术的进步，现在有可能在数千代的时间里繁殖数百个平行种群，并精确量化不同突变随时间的频率。实验进化将同时监测重复种群的能力与改变个体参数以检验特定进化假设的能力结合起来，这在自然种群中是不切实际或不可行的。现在许多实验室几乎在所有模式系统中进行实验室进化实验，包括病毒、细菌、酵母、线虫和果蝇。在这些系统中，真菌占据着独特的生态位：真菌具有较短的世代时间、紧凑的小基因组和有性生殖周期，是推动实验进化领域未来发展的特别有价值且很大程度上未被开发的资源。在这里，我们描述了真菌实验进化的现状以及真菌为何具有独特优势来回答该领域许多悬而未决的问题。我们还综述了哪些真菌物种最适合用于实验进化。
