Hunger Artists: Yeast Adapted to Carbon Limitation Show Trade-Offs under Carbon Sufficiency
2011

Yeast Adaptation to Carbon Limitation and Trade-Offs

Sample size: 5 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Jared W. Wenger, Jeffrey Piotrowski, Saisubramanian Nagarajan, Kami Chiotti, Gavin Sherlock, Frank Rosenzweig

Primary Institution: Stanford University

Hypothesis

Does evolution of increased fitness under one type of selection cause decreased fitness under another?

Conclusion

Yeasts that evolve high fitness under one resource-limiting condition also become more fit under other resource-limiting conditions, but may pay a fitness cost when those same resources are abundant.

Supporting Evidence

  • Evolved yeast clones showed higher fitness in carbon-limited environments compared to their ancestor.
  • Adaptive mutations were identified in genes related to glucose sensing and transport.
  • Trade-offs were observed when resources were abundant, indicating a cost to adaptation.

Takeaway

Scientists studied yeast to see how they adapt to limited food. They found that while yeast can get better at using one type of food, they might not do as well when that food is plentiful.

Methodology

The study involved growing yeast in different carbon-limited environments and measuring their fitness and gene expression.

Limitations

The study primarily focused on specific carbon sources and may not generalize to all environments.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pgen.1002202

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