Experiments: basic research on living systems, not technology.
Also: LTEE
Twelve populations of E. coli have been evolving in flasks since 1988, letting scientists watch evolution happen.
Only what the cited papers report.
Values as stated in the cited paper's abstract.
| Property | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mean fitness gain, 2,000 generations | ~37% | Lenski 1991 |
| Generation when citrate use appeared | 31,500 | Blount 2008 |
| Genomes sequenced over 50,000 generations | 264 | Tenaillon 2016 |
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Lenski and colleagues founded 12 E. coli populations from one ancestor; mean fitness rose about 37% in 2,000 generations, with gains slowing over time.
As reported in: Lenski, Rose, Simpson et al. (1991). Long-Term Experimental Evolution in Escherichia coli. I. Adaptation and Divergence During 2,000 Generations. The American Naturalist. doi:10.1086/285289
Abstract only
Blount, Borland and Lenski reported one population evolved the ability to use citrate by 31,500 generations, and replay experiments showed it depended on an earlier potentiating mutation.
As reported in: Blount, Borland, Lenski (2008). Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of <i>Escherichia coli</i>. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0803151105
Blount and colleagues sequenced genomes and found citrate use arose when a tandem duplication put a silent citrate transporter gene next to a promoter active in oxygen.
As reported in: Blount, Barrick, Davidson et al. (2012). Genomic analysis of a key innovation in an experimental Escherichia coli population. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11514
Tenaillon and colleagues analysed 264 genomes over 50,000 generations and found most fixed mutations in normal-mutation-rate populations were beneficial.
As reported in: Tenaillon, Barrick, Ribeck et al. (2016). Tempo and mode of genome evolution in a 50,000-generation experiment. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature18959