Full metadata
Title
Growth-related Mutational Effects and Phenotypic Evolution in Escherichia coli
Description
Phenotypic evolution is of great significance within biology, as it is the culmination of the influence of key evolutionary factors on the expression of genotypes. Deeper studies of the fundamental components, such as fitness effects of mutations and genetic variance within a population, allow one to predict the evolutionary trajectory of phenotypic evolution. In this regard, how much the change in mutational variance and the ongoing natural selection influence the rate of phenotypic evolution has yet to be fully understood. Therefore, this study measured mutational variances and the increasing rate of genetic variance during the experimental evolution of Escherichia coli populations, focusing on two growth-related traits, the populational maximum growth rate and carrying capacity. Mutational variances were measured by mutation-accumulation experiments, which allowed for the analysis of the effects of spontaneous mutations on growth-related traits in the absence of selection. This analysis revealed that some evolved populations developed a higher mutational variance for growth-related traits. Further investigation showed that most evolved populations have also developed a greater mutational effect, which could explain the increase in mutational variance. Finally, the genetic variances for most evolved populations are lower than expected in the absence of selection, and the involvement of either stabilizing or directional selection is evident. Future experiments with a larger sample size of experimentally evolved populations, as well as more intermediate timepoints during experimental evolution, may provide further insight regarding the complexities of the evolutionary outcomes of these traits.
Date Created
2023
Contributors
- Gonzales, Jadon (Author)
- Lynch, Michael (Thesis advisor)
- Geiler-Samerotte, Kerry (Committee member)
- Ho, Wei-Chin (Committee member)
- Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
Resource Type
Extent
58 pages
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Primary Member of
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.187735
Level of coding
minimal
Cataloging Standards
Note
Partial requirement for: M.S., Arizona State University, 2023
Field of study: Biology
System Created
- 2023-06-07 12:18:56
System Modified
- 2023-06-07 12:19:02
- 1 year 5 months ago
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