While evolution is usually considered to be a gradual process, new findings show that widespread physical and genomic adaptation to the environment can occur within just weeks.
A few minutes from the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia sits a small peach orchard that’s home to some unusual experiments. Contrary to first appearances, the subjects of the experiments are not the peach trees themselves, each of which is protected by a two-meter-cubed tent of fine mesh material. Instead, researchers are interested in the hundreds of tiny fruit flies living on the trees and the even tinier bacteria living inside the insects’ guts.
The setup was designed with a deceptively simple question in mind: Do the microbes in an animal’s digestive tract help shape their host’s evolution? Evolutionary biologist Seth Rudman says that it would make sense if they did. “Microbiomes [can have] a huge effect on host fitness, and hence could have a huge effect on adaptive trajectories of populations,” says Rudman, who helped construct part of the site in 2017 while a postdoc in evolutionary ecologist Paul Schmidt’s lab at UPenn. Despite broad scientific
Zaprionus indianus. After almost two months, the invasive species were removed and the
Drosophila were monitored for another two months, according to the study.
In four months, the
Drosophila flies rapidly adapted new traits in approximately nine generations, according to the study.
After nine generations, the flies were larger, laid fewer eggs and developed faster than flies that were not exposed to the invasive species, said Tess Grainger, lead author and postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia.
“It’s another demonstration that evolution can happen within just a few generations, kind of substantial evolution, Grainger said. “That gives more evidence in favor of this idea that species could potentially rapidly adapt to changing climates.”
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Credit: Washington State University
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Loss of biodiversity in the face of climate change is a growing worldwide concern. Another major factor driving the loss of biodiversity is the establishment of invasive species, which often displace native species. A new study shows that species can adapt rapidly to an invader and that this evolutionary change can affect how they deal with a stressful climate. Our results demonstrate that interactions with competitors, including invasive species, can shape a species evolution in response to climatic change, said co-author Seth Rudman, a WSU Vancouver adjunct professor who will join the faculty as an assistant professor of biological sciences in the fall.
Quick Evolutionary Change Could Help Species Deal with Stressful Climate
Written by AZoCleantechFeb 23 2021
Biodiversity loss caused by climate change is an ever-increasing concern globally. Another significant factor inducing biodiversity loss is the establishment of invasive species, which usually dislodge native species.
Invasive and naturalized fruit fly species on a peach tree inside the experiment. Image Credit: Washington State University.
A new study has demonstrated that species have the potential to adapt quickly to an invader and that this evolutionary change could have an impact on how they handle a harsh climate.
Our results demonstrate that interactions with competitors, including invasive species, can shape a species’ evolution in response to climatic change.