Escherichia coli adaptation under prolonged resource exhaustion is characterized by extreme parallelism and frequent historical contingency.

Like many other non-sporulating bacterial species, Escherichia coli is able to survive prolonged periods of resource exhaustion, by entering a state of growth called long-term stationary phase (LTSP). In July 2015, we initiated a set of evolutionary experiments aimed at characterizing the dynamics of E. coli adaptation under LTSP. In these experiments populations of E. coli were allowed to initially grow on fresh rich media, but were not provided with any new external growth resources since their establishment. Utilizing whole genome sequencing data obtained for hundreds of clones sampled at 12 time points spanning the first six years of these experiments, we reveal several novel aspects of the dynamics of adaptation. First, we show that E. coli continuously adapts genetically, up to six years under resource exhaustion, through the highly convergent accumulation of mutations. We further show that upon entry into LTSP, long-lasting lineages are established. This lineage structure is in itself convergent, with similar lineages arising across independently evolving populations. The high parallelism with which adaptations occur under LTSP, combined with the LTSP populations' lineage structure, enable us to screen for pairs of loci displaying a significant association in the occurrence of mutations, suggestive of a historical contingency. We find that such associations are highly frequent and that a third of convergently mutated loci are involved in at least one such association. Combined our results demonstrate that LTSP adaptation is characterized by remarkably high parallelism and frequent historical contingency.

Pseudomonas putida Dynamics of Adaptation under Prolonged Resource Exhaustion.

Many nonsporulating bacterial species survive prolonged resource exhaustion, by entering a state termed long-term stationary phase. Here, we performed long-term stationary phase evolutionary experiments on the bacterium Pseudomonas putida, followed by whole-genome sequencing of evolved clones. We show that P. putida is able to persist and adapt genetically under long-term stationary phase. We observed an accumulation of mutations within the evolving P. putida populations. Within each population, independently evolving lineages are established early on and persist throughout the 4-month-long experiment. Mutations accumulate in a highly convergent manner, with similar loci being mutated across independently evolving populations. Across populations, mutators emerge, that due to mutations within mismatch repair genes developed a much higher rate of mutation than other clones with which they coexisted within their respective populations. While these general dynamics of the adaptive process are quite similar to those we previously observed in the model bacterium Escherichia coli, the specific loci that are involved in adaptation only partially overlap between P. putida and E. coli.

Structural Neuroimaging of Hippocampus and Amygdala Subregions in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Scoping Review.

Numerous studies have explored the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the hippocampus and the amygdala because both regions are implicated in the disorder's pathogenesis and pathophysiology. Nevertheless, those key limbic regions consist of functionally and cytoarchitecturally distinct substructures that may play different roles in the etiology of PTSD. Spurred by the availability of automatic segmentation software, structural neuroimaging studies of human hippocampal and amygdala subregions have proliferated in recent years. Here, we present a preregistered scoping review of the existing structural neuroimaging studies of the hippocampus and amygdala subregions in adults diagnosed with PTSD. A total of 3513 studies assessing subregion volumes were identified, 1689 of which were screened, and 21 studies were eligible for this review (total N = 2876 individuals). Most studies examined hippocampal subregions and reported decreased CA1, CA3, dentate gyrus, and subiculum volumes in PTSD. Fewer studies investigated amygdala subregions and reported altered lateral, basal, and central nuclei volumes in PTSD. This review further highlights the conceptual and methodological limitations of the current literature and identifies future directions to increase understanding of the distinct roles of hippocampal and amygdalar subregions in posttraumatic psychopathology.

Metabolic adaptation to consume butyrate under prolonged resource exhaustion.

Bacteria must often survive following the exhaustion of their external growth resources. Fitting with this need, many bacterial species that cannot sporulate, can enter a state known as long term stationary phase (LTSP) in which they can persist for years within spent media. Several recent studies have revealed the dynamics of genetic adaptation of Escherichia coli under LTSP. Yet, the metabolic consequences of such genetic adaptation were not addressed. Here, we characterized the metabolic changes LTSP populations experience, over the first 32 days under LTSP. This allowed us to link genetic adaptations observed in a convergent manner across LTSP populations back to their metabolic adaptive effect. Specifically, we demonstrate that through the acquisition of mutations combinations in specific sets of metabolic genes, E. coli acquires the ability to consume the short chain fatty acid butyrate. Intriguingly, this fatty acid is not initially present within the rich media we used in this study. Instead, it is E. coli itself that produces butyrate during its initial growth within fresh rich media. The mutations that enable butyrate consumption allow E. coli to grow on butyrate. However, the clones carrying these mutations rapidly decrease in frequency, once the butyrate is consumed, likely reflecting an associated cost to fitness. Yet despite this, E. coli populations show a remarkable capability of maintaining these genotypes at low frequency, as standing variation. This in turn allows them to more rapidly re-adapt to consume butyrate, once it again becomes available to them.

Density-dependent effects are the main determinants of variation in growth dynamics between closely related bacterial strains.

Although closely related, bacterial strains from the same species show significant diversity in their growth and death dynamics. Yet, our understanding of the relationship between the kinetic parameters that dictate these dynamics is still lacking. Here, we measured the growth and death dynamics of 11 strains of Escherichia coli originating from different hosts and show that the growth patterns are clustered into three major classes with typical growth rates, maximal fold change, and death rates. To infer the underlying phenotypic parameters that govern the dynamics, we developed a phenomenological mathematical model that accounts not only for growth rate and its dependence on resource availability, but also for death rates and density-dependent growth inhibition. We show that density-dependent growth is essential for capturing the variability in growth dynamics between the strains. Indeed, the main parameter determining the dynamics is the typical density at which they slow down their growth, rather than the maximal growth rate or death rate. Moreover, we show that the phenotypic landscape resides within a two-dimensional plane spanned by resource utilization efficiency, death rate, and density-dependent growth inhibition. In this phenotypic plane, we identify three clusters that correspond to the growth pattern classes. Overall, our results reveal the tradeoffs between growth parameters that constrain bacterial adaptation.

Interactions of physical activity, muscular fitness, adiposity, and genetic risk for NAFLD.

Genetic predisposition and unhealthy lifestyle are risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We investigated whether the genetic risk of NAFLD is modified by physical activity, muscular fitness, and/or adiposity. In up to 242,524 UK Biobank participants without excessive alcohol intake or known liver disease, we examined cross-sectional interactions and joint associations of physical activity, muscular fitness, body mass index (BMI), and a genetic risk score (GRS) with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and the proxy definition for suspected NAFLD of ALT levels > 30 U/L in women and >40 U/L in men. Genetic predisposition to NAFLD was quantified using a GRS consisting of 68 loci known to be associated with chronically elevated ALT. Physical activity was assessed using accelerometry, and muscular fitness was estimated by measuring handgrip strength. We found that increased physical activity and grip strength modestly attenuate genetic predisposition to elevation in ALT levels, whereas higher BMI markedly amplifies it (all p values < 0.001). Among those with normal weight and high level of physical activity, the odds of suspected NAFLD were 1.6-fold higher in those with high versus low genetic risk (reference group). In those with high genetic risk, the odds of suspected NAFLD were 12-fold higher in obese participants with low physical activity versus those with normal weight and high physical activity (odds ratio for NAFLD = 19.2 and 1.6, respectively, vs. reference group). Conclusion: In individuals with high genetic predisposition for NAFLD, maintaining a normal body weight and increased physical activity may reduce the risk of NAFLD.

Health disparities in cardiometabolic risk among Black and Hispanic youth in the United States.

Cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents track into adulthood and are associated with increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this review is to examine the pervasive race and ethnic disparities in cardiometabolic risk factors among Black and Hispanic youth in the United States. We focus on three traditional cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia) as well as on the emerging cardiometabolic risk factor of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Additionally, we highlight interventions aimed at improving cardiometabolic health among these minority pediatric populations. Finally, we advocate for continued research on effective prevention strategies to reduce cardiometabolic risk and avert further disparities in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Dynamics of Adaptation During Three Years of Evolution Under Long-Term Stationary Phase.

Many bacterial species that cannot sporulate, such as the model bacterium Escherichia coli, can nevertheless survive for years, following exhaustion of external resources, in a state termed long-term stationary phase (LTSP). Here we describe the dynamics of E. coli adaptation during the first three years spent under LTSP. We show that during this time, E. coli continuously adapts genetically through the accumulation of mutations. For nonmutator clones, the majority of mutations accumulated appear to be adaptive under LTSP, reflected in an extremely convergent pattern of mutation accumulation. Despite the rapid and convergent manner in which populations adapt under LTSP, they continue to harbor extensive genetic variation. The dynamics of evolution of mutation rates under LTSP are particularly interesting. The emergence of mutators affects overall mutation accumulation rates as well as the mutational spectra and the ultimate spectrum of adaptive alleles acquired under LTSP. With time, mutators can evolve even higher mutation rates through the acquisition of additional mutation rate-enhancing mutations. Different mutator and nonmutator clones within a single population and time point can display extreme variation in their mutation rates, resulting in differences in both the dynamics of adaptation and their associated deleterious burdens. Despite these differences, clones that vary greatly in their mutation rates tend to coexist within their populations for many years, under LTSP.

Culture Volume Influences the Dynamics of Adaptation under Long-Term Stationary Phase.

Escherichia coli and many other bacterial species, which are incapable of sporulation, can nevertheless survive within resource exhausted media by entering a state termed long-term stationary phase (LTSP). We have previously shown that E. coli populations adapt genetically under LTSP in an extremely convergent manner. Here, we examine how the dynamics of LTSP genetic adaptation are influenced by varying a single parameter of the experiment-culture volume. We find that culture volume affects survival under LTSP, with viable counts decreasing as volumes increase. Across all volumes, mutations accumulate with time, and the majority of mutations accumulated demonstrate signals of being adaptive. However, positive selection appears to affect mutation accumulation more strongly at higher, compared with lower volumes. Finally, we find that several similar genes are likely involved in adaptation across volumes. However, the specific mutations within these genes that contribute to adaptation can vary in a consistent manner. Combined, our results demonstrate how varying a single parameter of an evolutionary experiment can substantially influence the dynamics of observed adaptation.

Adaptations Accumulated under Prolonged Resource Exhaustion Are Highly Transient.

Many nonsporulating bacterial species can survive for years within exhausted growth media in a state termed long-term stationary phase (LTSP). We have been carrying out evolutionary experiments aimed at elucidating the dynamics of genetic adaptation under LTSP. We showed that Escherichia coli adapts to prolonged resource exhaustion through the highly convergent acquisition of mutations. In the most striking example of such convergent adaptation, we observed that across all independently evolving LTSP populations, over 90% of E. coli cells carry mutations to one of three specific sites of the RNA polymerase core enzyme (RNAPC). These LTSP adaptations reduce the ability of the cells carrying them to grow once fresh resources are again provided. Here, we examine how LTSP populations recover from costs associated with their adaptation once resources are again provided to them. We demonstrate that due to the ability of LTSP populations to maintain high levels of standing genetic variation during adaptation, costly adaptations are very rapidly purged from the population once they are provided with fresh resources. We further demonstrate that recovery from costs acquired during adaptation under LTSP occurs more rapidly than would be possible if LTSP adaptations had fixed during the time populations spent under resource exhaustion. Finally, we previously reported that under LTSP, some clones develop a mutator phenotype, greatly increasing their mutation accumulation rates. Here, we show that the mechanisms by which populations recover from costs associated with fixed adaptations may depend on mutator status.IMPORTANCE Many bacterial species can survive for decades under starvation, following the exhaustion of external growth resources. We have previously shown that bacteria genetically adapt under these conditions in a manner that reduces their ability to grow once resources again become available. Here, we study how populations that have been subject to very prolonged resource exhaustion recover from costs associated with their adaptation. We demonstrate that rapid adaptations acquired under prolonged starvation tend to be highly transient, rapidly reducing in frequency once bacteria are no longer starved. Our results shed light on the longer-term consequences of bacterial survival under prolonged starvation. More generally, these results may also be applicable to understanding longer-term consequences of rapid adaptation to additional conditions as well.

The Codon Usage of Lowly Expressed Genes Is Subject to Natural Selection.

Codon usage bias affects the genomes of organisms from all kingdoms of life and results from both background substitution biases and natural selection. Natural selection on codon usage to increase translation accuracy and efficiency has long been known to affect gene sequences. Such selection is stronger on highly, compared with lowly expressed genes, resulting in higher levels of codon bias within genes with higher expression levels. Additionally, selection on translation accuracy affects more strongly codons encoding conserved amino acids, since these will more often affect protein folding and/or function. By applying tests of selection on the gene sequences of the bacterium Escherichia coli, we demonstrate that both highly and lowly expressed genes display signals of selection on codon usage. Such signals are found for both conserved and less conserved amino acid positions, even within the 10% of E. coli genes expressed at the lowest levels. We further demonstrate experimentally that single synonymous codon replacements within a lowly expressed, essential gene can carry substantial effects on bacterial fitness. Combined, our results demonstrate that even within genes expressed at relatively low levels there is substantial selection on codon usage and that single synonymous codon replacements within such genes can have a marked effect on bacterial fitness.

Rapid Genetic Adaptation during the First Four Months of Survival under Resource Exhaustion.

Many bacteria, including the model bacterium Escherichia coli can survive for years within spent media, following resource exhaustion. We carried out evolutionary experiments, followed by whole genome sequencing of hundreds of evolved clones to study the dynamics by which E. coli adapts during the first 4 months of survival under resource exhaustion. Our results reveal that bacteria evolving under resource exhaustion are subject to intense selection, manifesting in rapid mutation accumulation, enrichment in functional mutation categories and extremely convergent adaptation. In the most striking example of convergent adaptation, we found that across five independent populations adaptation to conditions of resource exhaustion occurs through mutations to the three same specific positions of the RNA polymerase core enzyme. Mutations to these three sites are strongly antagonistically pleiotropic, in that they sharply reduce exponential growth rates in fresh media. Such antagonistically pleiotropic mutations, combined with the accumulation of additional mutations, severely reduce the ability of bacteria surviving under resource exhaustion to grow exponentially in fresh media. We further demonstrate that the three positions at which these resource exhaustion mutations occur are conserved for the ancestral E. coli allele, across bacterial phyla, with the exception of nonculturable bacteria that carry the resource exhaustion allele at one of these positions, at very high frequencies. Finally, our results demonstrate that adaptation to resource exhaustion is not limited by mutational input and that bacteria are able to rapidly adapt under resource exhaustion in a temporally precise manner through allele frequency fluctuations.

Stress granule formation in Entamoeba histolytica: cross-talk between EhMLBP, EhRLE3 reverse transcriptase and polyubiquitinated proteins.

The Entamoeba histolytica-methylated LINE-binding protein (EhMLBP) binds to methylated repetitive DNA and is a positive regulator of a reverse transcriptase of a long interspersed nucleotide element (LINE). This protein protects trophozoites against heat shock by reducing protein aggregation. The presence of EhMLBP and polyubiquitinated proteins in heat shock-induced protein aggregates raised the question whether these proteins interact. This assumption was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation experiments: ubiquitinated proteins were detected in the perinuclear region of non-stressed E. histolytica trophozoites, whereas ubiquitinated proteins were detected in the perinuclear region and colocalized with EhMLBP in cytoplasmic granules in heat-shocked trophozoites. We also observed that overexpression of the reverse transcriptase of EhRLE3 induced the upregulation of EhMLBP expression and the formation of these EhMLBP-containing granules. Since (i) these EhMLBP-containing granules in the cytoplasm of heat-shocked E. histolytica trophozoites also contain polyubiquitinated proteins and poly(A)(+) mRNA and (ii) their formation is promoted by sodium arsenate, puromycin, and pateamine A and is inhibited by cycloheximide, we propose that these cytoplasmic EhMLBP-containing granules are stress granules. Our data also suggest that the formation of these granules is dependent upon EhMLBP and LINE.

Elevated mutagenesis does not explain the increased frequency of antibiotic resistant mutants in starved aging colonies.

The frequency of mutants resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin has been shown to increase in aging (starved), compared to young colonies of Escherichia coli. These increases in resistance frequency occur in the absence of any antibiotic exposure, and similar increases have also been observed in response to additional growth limiting conditions. Understanding the causes of such increases in the frequency of resistance is important for understanding the dynamics of antibiotic resistance emergence and spread. Increased frequency of rifampicin resistant mutants in aging colonies is cited widely as evidence of stress-induced mutagenesis (SIM), a mechanism thought to allow bacteria to increase mutation rates upon exposure to growth-limiting stresses. At the same time it has been demonstrated that some rifampicin resistant mutants are relatively fitter in aging compared to young colonies, indicating that natural selection may also contribute to increased frequency of rifampicin resistance in aging colonies. Here, we demonstrate that the frequency of mutants resistant to both rifampicin and an additional antibiotic (nalidixic-acid) significantly increases in aging compared to young colonies of a lab strain of Escherichia coli. We then use whole genome sequencing to demonstrate conclusively that SIM cannot explain the observed magnitude of increased frequency of resistance to these two antibiotics. We further demonstrate that, as was previously shown for rifampicin resistance mutations, mutations conferring nalidixic acid resistance can also increase fitness in aging compared to young colonies. Our results show that increases in the frequency of antibiotic resistant mutants in aging colonies cannot be seen as evidence of SIM. Furthermore, they demonstrate that natural selection likely contributes to increases in the frequency of certain antibiotic resistance mutations, even when no selection is exerted due to the presence of antibiotics.

The Entamoeba histolytica methylated LINE-binding protein EhMLBP provides protection against heat shock.

Adaptation to environmental stress is a key process that allows the unicellular parasite Entamoeba histolytica to survive in its human host. We previously characterized EhMLBP as an essential protein for the growth and the virulence of the parasite. EhMLBP binds to methylated repetitive DNA, and is one of the core proteins of the parasite's epigenetic machinery. Here, we show that EhMLBP and heat shock proteins have common properties. EhMLBP is induced by heat shock and its expression is regulated by a heat shock element binding site that is located in its 5' non-coding region. Following heat shock, the perinuclear localization of EhMLBP in control trophozoites is replaced by an even distribution within the nucleus alongside with an enhanced recruitment of EhMLBP to the reverse transcriptase of a long interspersed nucleotide element (LINE) DNA. Constitutive overexpression of EhMLBP protects trophozoites against heat shock and reduces protein aggregation. This protective function is lost in trophozoites that overexpress a mutated form of EhMLBP which is devoid of its heat shock domain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a methyl DNA-binding protein that plays a protective role against heat shock.

Reversal of heroin neurobehavioral teratogenicity by grafting of neural progenitors.

A major objective in identifying the mechanisms underlying neurobehavioral teratogenicity in an animal model is the possibility of designing therapies that reverse or offset teratogen-induced neural damage. In our previous studies, we identified deficits in hippocampal muscarinic cholinergic receptor-induced translocation of protein kinase C (PKC) gamma as the likely central factor responsible for the adverse behavioral effects of pre-natal heroin exposure. Neural progenitors (NP) have the ability to recover behavioral deficits after focal hippocampal damage. Therefore, we explored whether behavioral and synaptic defects could be reversed in adulthood by neural progenitor grafting. Pregnant mice were injected daily with 10 mg/kg of heroin on gestational days 9-18. In adulthood, offspring showed deficits in the Morris maze, a behavior dependent on the integrity of septohippocampal cholinergic synaptic function, along with the loss of the PKCgamma and PKCbetaII responses to cholinergic stimulation. Mice that were exposed pre-natally to heroin and vehicle control mice were then grafted in adulthood with NP. Importantly, most grafted cells differentiated to astrocytes. NP reversed the behavioral deficits (p = 0.0043) and restored the normal response of hippocampal PKCgamma and PKCbetaII (p = 0.0337 and p = 0.0265 respectively) to cholinergic receptor stimulation. The effects were specific as the PKCalpha isoform, which is unrelated to the behavioral deficits, showed almost no changes. Neural progenitor grafting thus offers an animal model for reversing neurobehavioral deficits originating in septohippocampal cholinergic defects elicited by pre-natal exposure to insults.

Mechanism-based approaches for the reversal of drug neurobehavioral teratogenicity.

Understanding the mechanism of neurobehavioral teratogenicity is the primary prerequisite for reversal of the defect. Progress in such studies can be best achieved if the investigation focuses on behaviors related to a specific brain region and innervation. Our model focused on teratogen-induced deficits in hippocampus-related eight-arm and Morris maze behaviors. Different "cholinergic" teratogens, mainly heroin, induced both pre- and postsynaptic hyperactivity in the hippocampal cholinergic innervation that terminated in desensitization of Protein Kinase C (PKC) isoforms to cholinergic receptor stimulation. Understanding this mechanism enabled its reversal with a pharmacological therapy-nicotine infusion. Studies by others provided similar findings by targeting the deficits respective to the model investigated. Consistently, destruction of the A10-septal dopaminergic pathways that downregulate the septohippocampal cholinergic innervation ameliorated maze performance. Grafting of embryonic differentiated cholinergic cells or neural progenitors similarly reversed the biochemical/molecular alterations and the resulting deficits. Reversal therapies offer a model for the understanding of neurobehavioral teratogenicity and, clinically, offer a model for potential treatment of these deficits. Whereas neural progenitor grafting appears to be the most effective treatment, pharmacological reversal with nicotine infusion seems to possess the most feasible and immediate therapy for neurobehavioral birth defects produced by various teratogens, including drugs. This is true even though the effect of pharmacological therapies is diffuse, affecting multiple areas of the brain. "Everybody is talking about the weather but nobody does anything about it." (Mark Twain).