Pseudomonas aeruginosa's adaptive trajectory: diverse origins, convergent paths

Tiffany B Taylor; Matthew J Shepherd; James S Horton

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2023.12.002

Pseudomonas aeruginosa's adaptive trajectory: diverse origins, convergent paths

Trends Microbiol. 2024 Sep;32(9):825-827. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.12.002. Epub 2023 Dec 14.

Authors

Tiffany B Taylor¹, Matthew J Shepherd², James S Horton³

Affiliations

¹ Milner Centre for Evolution and Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Division of Evolution and Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
³ Milner Centre for Evolution and Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, UK.

PMID: 38102036
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.12.002

Abstract

Does genetic background contribute to populations following the same or divergent adaptive trajectories? A recent study by Filipow et al. evolved multiple genetically distinct Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains to an artificial cystic fibrosis lung sputum media. The strains adapted at different rates but converged on similar phenotypes despite their initial diversity.

Keywords: contingency; epistasis; experimental evolution; fitness landscape; trait value.

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological
Cystic Fibrosis* / microbiology
Genetic Variation
Humans
Phenotype
Pseudomonas Infections / microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa* / genetics
Pseudomonas aeruginosa* / pathogenicity
Pseudomonas aeruginosa* / physiology
Sputum / microbiology