生物谷报道：美国密歇根州大学科学家近日在《美国国家科学院院刊》上发表论文，通过对大肠杆菌的研究发现这种细菌在实验室进化出新的特点，并可通过传代“重演”进化史。
20年前，美国密歇根州大学进化生物学家理查德·伦斯基取单个大肠杆菌繁殖，让其后代繁衍了12支实验室细菌种群。如今当伦斯基观察它们发生了什么情况时，发现这12支细菌种群还在成长壮大，并逐渐积累了变异，繁殖出了4.4万多代细菌。在每一个独立的种群中，伦斯基看到大多数细菌的模样是相似的。比如，所有12支细菌种群都进化出了更大的细胞、更快的生长速度和较低的高峰种群密度。
然而有一些特点与众不同，大约是3.15万代细菌出现了戏剧性的变化，突然获得了代谢柠檬酸盐的能力，而柠檬酸盐是其培养基中的第二种营养物质，大肠杆菌通常利用不了它们。事实上，无能力利用柠檬酸盐是细菌学家区分大肠杆菌和其它细菌的特征之一。而这种利用柠檬酸盐的变异种群增加了大肠杆菌的种群数量和多样性。伦斯基说：“这是我们做实验时看到的最深刻的变化。显然有些细菌完全与众不同，甚至不能考虑为正常的大肠杆菌，这使它特别有趣味。”
到现在，伦斯基统计过足够的细菌细胞，发现其中所有样本的突变都是几次积累后实现的。这意味着利用柠檬酸盐的能力很特别，可能是一种罕见的不可能的变异种类，或一种罕见的染色体倒置或是几次基因排序突变的累积效果。为发现是种什么样的变异，伦斯基转向冰柜中保存的每种种群每500代的样本，让它们再现他所需要的进化历史。其办法是让细菌苏醒，再让它们重演一次进化历程。
同一种群会再次进化出能利用柠檬酸盐的能力吗？他想总会有一种群会出现这种累积效果的。结果果然不出所料。这种重演表明原有种群在2万代或以上时开始出现了这种进化重演。他总结在大约2万代时一定突然发生了一些事情，从而使细菌进化出这种利用柠檬酸盐的能力。
伦斯基及其同事正在识别一些细菌的较早变化，以了解这种变异如何在1万代之后的细菌中产生的。与此同时，实验表明进化并不总是朝着最好的结果出现。相反一些变化事件有时会开放一种种群的进化之门，有时则会关闭其它种群的进化之门。这对反对进化论的人给了反驳一击。（生物谷www.bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
PNAS | June 10, 2008 | vol. 105 | no. 23 | 7899-7906,DOI,10.1073/pnas.0803151105
Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli
Zachary D. Blount, Christina Z. Borland, and Richard E. Lenski*
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824
Contributed by Richard E. Lenski, April 9, 2008 (received for review March 26, 2008)
The role of historical contingency in evolution has been much debated, but rarely tested. Twelve initially identical populations of Escherichia coli were founded in 1988 to investigate this issue. They have since evolved in a glucose-limited medium that also contains citrate, which E. coli cannot use as a carbon source under oxic conditions. No population evolved the capacity to exploit citrate for >30,000 generations, although each population tested billions of mutations. A citrate-using (Cit+) variant finally evolved in one population by 31,500 generations, causing an increase in population size and diversity. The long-delayed and unique evolution of this function might indicate the involvement of some extremely rare mutation. Alternately, it may involve an ordinary mutation, but one whose physical occurrence or phenotypic expression is contingent on prior mutations in that population. We tested these hypotheses in experiments that "replayed" evolution from different points in that population's history. We observed no Cit+ mutants among 8.4 x 1012 ancestral cells, nor among 9 x 1012 cells from 60 clones sampled in the first 15,000 generations. However, we observed a significantly greater tendency for later clones to evolve Cit+, indicating that some potentiating mutation arose by 20,000 generations. This potentiating change increased the mutation rate to Cit+ but did not cause generalized hypermutability. Thus, the evolution of this phenotype was contingent on the particular history of that population. More generally, we suggest that historical contingency is especially important when it facilitates the evolution of key innovations that are not easily evolved by gradual, cumulative selection.
