20 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Bacteria Evolve to Process Lactose in a Test Tube
But “laboratory” adaptations can also be more complex, involving
the evolution of whole new biochemical systems. Perhaps the ultimate
challenge is simply to take away a gene that a microbe needs to survive
in a particular environment, and see how it responds. Can it evolve
a way around this problem? The answer is usually yes. In a dramatic
experiment, Barry Hall and his colleagues at the University of Rochester
began a study by deleting a gene from E. coli. This gene produces an
enzyme th...Folksonomies: evolution experiment
Folksonomies: evolution experiment
Scientists blocked a gene for digesting lactose in bacteria, which then mutated to have the digestive function taken over by another gene producing an enzyme, which then got progressively selected for efficiency.