Ecological and Evolutionary Science
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceAlteration of Prion Strain Emergence by Nonhost FactorsThe prion strain, surface type, and matrix containing PrPSc can influence PrPSc surface adsorption. The cumulative effect of these factors can result in strain- and soil-specific differences in prion bioavailability. Environmental weathering processes can result in decreases in PrPSc conversion efficiency and infectivity. Little is known about how incomplete inactivation of surface-bound PrPSc...
Commentary | Ecological and Evolutionary SciencemSphere of Influence: the Wild Genetic Diversity of Our Closest Yeast CompanionsDouda Bensasson uses the population genomics of model yeast species to understand how wild yeast colonize new environments, such as humans or their food. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the discovery of “Surprisingly diverged populations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in natural environments remote from human activity” (Q.-M. Wang, W.-Q. Liu, G...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceGenomic Variation among Strains of Crithidia bombi and C. expoekiA group of trypanosomatid flagellates includes several well-studied medically and economically important parasites of vertebrates and plants. Nevertheless, the vast majority of trypanosomatids infect only insects (mostly flies and true bugs) and, because of that, has attracted little research attention in the past. Of several hundred trypanosomatid species, only four can infect bees (honeybees and bumblebees). Because of such scarcity,...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceRobust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt FlatsPleistocene Lake Bonneville, which covered a third of Utah, desiccated approximately 13,000 years ago, leaving behind the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) in the Utah West Desert. The potash salts that saturate BSF basin are extracted and sold as an additive for agricultural fertilizers. The salt crust is a well-known recreational and economic commodity, but the biological interactions with the salt crust have not been studied. This study is...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary SciencePlasticity in the Human Gut Microbiome Defies Evolutionary ConstraintsThe results of this study indicate a discordance between gut microbiome composition and evolutionary history in primates, calling into question previous notions about host genetic control of the primate gut microbiome. Microbiome similarities between humans consuming nonindustrialized diets and monkeys characterized by subsisting on eclectic, omnivorous diets also raise questions about the ecological and nutritional drivers shaping the...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceEnterococcus faecalis CRISPR-Cas Is a Robust Barrier to Conjugative Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination in the Murine IntestineCRISPR-Cas is a type of immune system in bacteria that is hypothesized to be a natural impediment to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we directly assessed the impact of CRISPR-Cas on antibiotic resistance dissemination in the mammalian intestine and under different in vitro conditions. We observed a robust effect of CRISPR-Cas on in vivo but not in vitro dissemination of antibiotic...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceExperimental Evidence for Adaptation to Species-Specific Gut Microbiota in House MiceThe communities of bacteria that reside within mammalian guts are deeply integrated with their hosts, but the impact of this gut microbiota on mammalian evolution remains poorly understood. Experimental transplantation of the gut microbiota between mouse species revealed that foreign gut microbiotas lowered the host growth rate and upregulated the expression of an immunomodulating cytokine. In addition, foreign gut microbiotas increased...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceEndless Forms: Within-Host Variation in the Structure of the West Nile Virus RNA Genome during Serial Passage in Bird HostsThe enzymes that copy RNA genomes lack proofreading, and viruses that possess RNA genomes, such as West Nile virus, rapidly diversify into swarms of mutant lineages within a host. Intrahost variation of the primary genomic sequence of RNA viruses has been studied extensively because the extent of this variation shapes key virus phenotypes. However, RNA genomes also form complex secondary structures based on within-genome nucleotide...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSusceptibility to Medium-Chain Fatty Acids Is Associated with Trisomy of Chromosome 7 in Candida albicansAneuploidy (changes in chromosome number) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occur frequently in the human-pathogenic yeast Candida albicans and are associated with adaptation to stress and to antifungal drugs. Aneuploidy and LOH can also be induced during laboratory manipulations, such as during genetic transformation. We find that...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceAgent-Based Modeling Demonstrates How Local Chemotactic Behavior Can Shape Biofilm ArchitectureMost bacteria exist in aggregated, three-dimensional structures called biofilms. Although biofilms play important ecological roles in natural and engineered settings, they can also pose societal problems, for example, when they grow in plumbing systems or on medical implants. Understanding the processes that promote the growth and disassembly of biofilms could lead to better strategies to manage these structures. We had previously shown...