University of California, San Diego

Coevolution between phage and bacteria drives the evolution of key innovations, new species, and biological complexity

Coevolution is predicted to be a creative force in the evolution of life, possibly contributing to the evolution of phenomena such as diversity, novelty, and complexity. One key mechanism by which coevolution promotes the emergence of these phenomena is by causing fitness landscapes to fluctuate, inducing continual evolutionary change, and causing exploration of new adaptations. For this talk, I will discuss several experimental studies on bacteria and phages that demonstrate the role coevolution plays in driving the evolution of key innovations, speciation, and the formation of complex ecological networks. The studies include quantification of how fitness landscapes change during coevolution by leveraging high-throughput gene editing-phenotyping technologies.