Adaptation of cells to new environments

Aaron N. Brooks, Serdar Turkarslan, Karlyn D. Beer, Fang Yin Lo, Nitin S. Baliga
2010 Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Systems Biology and Medicine  
The evolutionary success of an organism is a testament to its inherent capacity to keep pace with environmental conditions that change over short and long periods. Mechanisms underlying adaptive processes are being investigated with renewed interest and excitement. This revival is partly fueled by powerful technologies that can probe molecular phenomena at a systems scale. Such studies provide spectacular insight into the mechanisms of adaptation, including rewiring of regulatory networks via
more » ... tural selection of horizontal gene transfers, gene duplication, deletion, readjustment of kinetic parameters, and myriad other genetic reorganizational events. Here, we will discuss advances in prokaryotic systems biology from the perspective of evolutionary principles that have shaped regulatory networks for dynamic adaptation to environmental change. Microorganisms experience myriad environmental factors over their evolutionary history, including those that remain essentially constant over long periods (e.g. geological epochs), change slowly (e.g. general increase in annual temperatures), fluctuate periodically (e.g. day-night cycles and seasonal variations), or change frequently and somewhat randomly (e.g. unpredictable nutrient loading). These changes occur over diverse timescales,
doi:10.1002/wsbm.136 pmid:21197660 pmcid:PMC3081528 fatcat:l7khouleyrctxnicuahxshk67a