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Experimental evolution of bet hedging

Author

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  • Hubertus J. E. Beaumont

    (New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study and Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, North Shore City 0745, Auckland, New Zealand
    Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, PO Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
    Present addresses: Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, PO Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands (H.J.E.B.); Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany (C.K.).)

  • Jenna Gallie

    (New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study and Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, North Shore City 0745, Auckland, New Zealand)

  • Christian Kost

    (New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study and Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, North Shore City 0745, Auckland, New Zealand
    Present addresses: Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, PO Box 9505, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands (H.J.E.B.); Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany (C.K.).)

  • Gayle C. Ferguson

    (New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study and Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, North Shore City 0745, Auckland, New Zealand)

  • Paul B. Rainey

    (New Zealand Institute for Advanced Study and Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology & Evolution, Massey University, Private Bag 102904, North Shore Mail Centre, North Shore City 0745, Auckland, New Zealand)

Abstract

Dicing with survival: experimental evolution of bet hedging in bacteria If living organisms are to survive, they must cope with ever-changing environments. One solution is the evolution of sensing mechanisms allowing modulation of the phenotype in response to specific cues. A simpler alternative is stochastic or random phenotype switching — 'hedging your bets'. A study of Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria exposed to a fluctuating regime with similarities to environments such as the vertebrate immune system demonstrates the evolution of bet-hedging behaviour in real time. The P. fluorescens strain evolved the capacity to switch randomly between colony types, ensuring survival in an artificial environment that constantly favoured different colonies. The presence of bet hedging in these simple organisms, and the identification of the mutations involved, show how a changing environment can reward risk-spreading behaviour. Such strategies may have been among the earliest evolutionary solutions to life in fluctuating environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Hubertus J. E. Beaumont & Jenna Gallie & Christian Kost & Gayle C. Ferguson & Paul B. Rainey, 2009. "Experimental evolution of bet hedging," Nature, Nature, vol. 462(7269), pages 90-93, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:462:y:2009:i:7269:d:10.1038_nature08504
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08504
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    Cited by:

    1. Amandine Nucci & Eduardo P. C. Rocha & Olaya Rendueles, 2022. "Adaptation to novel spatially-structured environments is driven by the capsule and alters virulence-associated traits," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Jessica A Lee & Siavash Riazi & Shahla Nemati & Jannell V Bazurto & Andreas E Vasdekis & Benjamin J Ridenhour & Christopher H Remien & Christopher J Marx, 2019. "Microbial phenotypic heterogeneity in response to a metabolic toxin: Continuous, dynamically shifting distribution of formaldehyde tolerance in Methylobacterium extorquens populations," PLOS Genetics, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-38, November.
    3. Yann S Dufour & Sébastien Gillet & Nicholas W Frankel & Douglas B Weibel & Thierry Emonet, 2016. "Direct Correlation between Motile Behavior and Protein Abundance in Single Cells," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, September.
    4. Leighton T Izu & Tamás Bányász & Ye Chen-Izu, 2015. "Optimizing Population Variability to Maximize Benefit," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Terence C. Burnham & Aimee Dunlap & David W. Stephens, 2015. "Experimental Evolution and Economics," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(4), pages 21582440156, November.
    6. Peña, Jorge & Nöldeke, Georg & Lehmann, Laurent, 2014. "Relatedness and synergies of kind and scale in the evolution of helping," Working papers 2014/09, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    7. Byer, Nathan W. & Reid, Brendan N., 2022. "The emergence of imperfect philopatry and fidelity in spatially and temporally heterogeneous environments," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 468(C).
    8. Si Tang & Yaqing Liu & Jianming Zhu & Xueyu Cheng & Lu Liu & Katrin Hammerschmidt & Jin Zhou & Zhonghua Cai, 2024. "Bet hedging in a unicellular microalga," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Andrew W. Lo & H. Allen Orr & Ruixun Zhang, 2018. "The growth of relative wealth and the Kelly criterion," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 49-67, April.
    10. David D. Woods, 2018. "The theory of graceful extensibility: basic rules that govern adaptive systems," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 433-457, December.
    11. Sébastien Boyer & Lucas Hérissant & Gavin Sherlock, 2021. "Adaptation is influenced by the complexity of environmental change during evolution in a dynamic environment," PLOS Genetics, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-27, January.
    12. Chaitanya S. Gokhale & Marcus Frean & Paul B. Rainey, 2023. "Eco-evolutionary Logic of Mutualisms," Dynamic Games and Applications, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 1066-1087, December.
    13. Gokhale, Chaitanya S. & Hauert, Christoph, 2016. "Eco-evolutionary dynamics of social dilemmas," Theoretical Population Biology, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 28-42.
    14. Gary Friedman & Stephen McCarthy & Dmitrii Rachinskii, 2014. "Hysteresis Can Grant Fitness in Stochastically Varying Environment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-9, July.

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