London, September 20 (ANI): Researchers at Michigan State
University have documented the step-by-step process in which
organisms evolve new functions. The results are revealed through
an in-depth, genomics-based analysis that decodes how E. coli
bacteria figured out how to supplement a traditional diet of
glucose with an extra course of citrate. "It's pretty nifty to
see a new biological function evolve," said Zachary Blount,
postdoctoral researcher in MSU's BEACON Center for the Study of
Evolution in Action. "The first citrate-eaters were just barely
able to grow on the citrate, but they got much better over time.
We wanted to understand the changes that allowed the bacteria to
evolve this new ability. We were lucky to have a system that
allowed us to do so," the researcher noted. Normal E. coli can't
digest citrate when oxygen is present. In fact, it's a distinct
hallmark of E. coli. They can't eat citrate because E. coli
doesn't express the right protein to absorb citrate molecules.
To decipher the respons