title: Darwinian evolution on a chip.
abstract: Computer control of Darwinian evolution has been demonstrated by propagating a population of RNA enzymes in a microfluidic device. The RNA population was challenged to catalyze the ligation of an oligonucleotide substrate under conditions of progressively lower substrate concentrations. A microchip-based serial dilution circuit automated an exponential growth phase followed by a 10-fold dilution, which was repeated for 500 log-growth iterations. Evolution was observed in real time as the population adapted and achieved progressively faster growth rates over time. The final evolved enzyme contained a set of 11 mutations that conferred a 90-fold improvement in substrate utilization, coinciding with the applied selective pressure. This system reduces evolution to a microfluidic algorithm, allowing the experimenter to observe and manipulate adaptation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Paegel
authors.forename: Gerald F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Joyce
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D046208:Microchip Analytical Procedures; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D011130:RNA Ligase (ATP) / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D011130:RNA Ligase (ATP)