EXPERIMENTAL EVOLUTION OF HOST RANGE AND THE ACQUISITION OF NEW VIRULENCE FACTORS:
We harness the unique power of experimental evolution to study the adaptive potential of the important human bacterial pathogen, Legionella pneumophila. We use cutting-edge genomics to directly measure the evolution of pathogenesis to specific intracellular niches. We hypothesize that as an accidental pathogen, sub-optimally adapted to any given host, bacterial transit through uniform host populations will select for host-specific adaptations. Evidence for these adaptations remains behind in each pathogen's genome. By recreating these conditions in the laboratory, we can define individual host signatures through the mutations they select for in the Legionella genome. Using similar approaches, we can model the acquisition and maintenance of new virulence factors in a controlled laboratory environment.
We harness the unique power of experimental evolution to study the adaptive potential of the important human bacterial pathogen, Legionella pneumophila. We use cutting-edge genomics to directly measure the evolution of pathogenesis to specific intracellular niches. We hypothesize that as an accidental pathogen, sub-optimally adapted to any given host, bacterial transit through uniform host populations will select for host-specific adaptations. Evidence for these adaptations remains behind in each pathogen's genome. By recreating these conditions in the laboratory, we can define individual host signatures through the mutations they select for in the Legionella genome. Using similar approaches, we can model the acquisition and maintenance of new virulence factors in a controlled laboratory environment.
For examples of our experimental evolution research, see:
Ensminger AW (2013). Experimental evolution of pathogenesis: "patient" research. PLoS Pathogens 9(5): e1003340.
Ensminger AW, Yassin Y, Miron A, Isberg RR (2012). Experimental Evolution of Legionella pneumophila in Mouse Macrophages Leads to Strains with Altered Determinants of Environmental Survival. PLoS Pathogens 8(5): e1002731.
Ensminger AW (2013). Experimental evolution of pathogenesis: "patient" research. PLoS Pathogens 9(5): e1003340.
Ensminger AW, Yassin Y, Miron A, Isberg RR (2012). Experimental Evolution of Legionella pneumophila in Mouse Macrophages Leads to Strains with Altered Determinants of Environmental Survival. PLoS Pathogens 8(5): e1002731.