title: The population genetics of phenotypic deterioration in experimental populations of Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: Although many examples of trait loss exist in nature, the underlying population genetic mechanism responsible for the loss is usually unknown. Selective or neutral processes can result in the deterioration of a trait, and often one of these is inferred based on indirect evidence. Furthermore, selective pressures that are unique to particular environments and the effect these might have on the population genetic cause of trait loss are not well understood. Here we describe an experimental evolution system where two different environments were used for addressing the population genetic cause of trait loss throughout evolutionary time. We found that growth in minimal medium (i.e., prototrophy) was lost in all populations regardless of the experimental environment and that the pattern of trait loss in one environment was due to selection, whereas in the other environment the cause remains inconclusive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. hmaughan@u.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maughan
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Callicotte
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hancock
authors.forename: C William
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Birky
authors.forename: Wayne L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Masel
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003470:Culture Media; D004463:Ecology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D005947:Glucose