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      Experimental evolution in fungi: An untapped resource

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      Fungal Genetics and Biology
      Elsevier BV

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          Abstract

          Historically, evolutionary biology has been considered an observational science. Examining populations and inferring evolutionary histories mold evolutionary theories. In contrast, laboratory evolution experiments make use of the amenability of traditional model organisms to study fundamental processes underlying evolution in real time in simple, but well-controlled, environments. With advances in high-throughput biology and next generation sequencing, it is now possible to propagate hundreds of parallel populations over thousands of generations and to quantify precisely the frequencies of various mutations over time. Experimental evolution combines the ability to simultaneously monitor replicate populations with the power to vary individual parameters to test specific evolutionary hypotheses, something that is impractical or infeasible in natural populations. Many labs are now conducting laboratory evolution experiments in nearly all model systems including viruses, bacteria, yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies. Among these systems, fungi occupy a unique niche: with a short generation time, small compact genomes, and sexual cycles, fungi are a particularly valuable and largely untapped resource for propelling future growth in the field of experimental evolution. Here, we describe the current state of fungal experimental evolution and why fungi are uniquely positioned to answer many of the outstanding questions in the field. We also review which fungal species are most well suited for experimental evolution.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Fungal Genetics and Biology
          Fungal Genetics and Biology
          Elsevier BV
          10871845
          September 2016
          September 2016
          : 94
          : 88-94
          Article
          10.1016/j.fgb.2016.06.007
          27375178
          0a6999d8-dafc-4663-b285-7bb666b53481
          © 2016

          https://www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/

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