Adaptive laboratory evolution of a thermophile toward a reduced growth temperature optimum.

ABSTRACT: Thermophily is an ancient trait among microorganisms. The molecular principles to sustain high temperatures, however, are often described as adaptations, somewhat implying that they evolved from a non-thermophilic background and that thermophiles, i.e., organisms with growth temperature optima (T_OPT) above 45°C, evolved from mesophilic organisms (T_OPT 25-45°C). On the contrary, it has also been argued that LUCA, the last universal common ancestor of Bacteria and Archaea, may have been a thermophile, and mesophily is the derived trait. In this study, we took an experimental approach toward the evolution of a mesophile from a thermophile. We selected the acetogenic bacterium T. kivui (T_OPT 66°C) since acetogenesis is considered anc

SUBMITTER: Lehmann M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10601643 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature