Experimental evolution in an era of molecular manipulation

Abstract

Laboratory evolution experiments in microbial and viral populations have provided great insight into the dynamics and predictability of evolution. The rise of high-throughput sequencing technologies over the past two decades has driven a massive expansion in the scale and power of these experiments. However, until recently our abilities to connect genetic with phenotypic changes and analyse the molecular basis of adaptation have remained limited. Rapid technical advances to measure and manipulate both genotypes and phenotypes are now providing opportunities to investigate the genetic basis of phenotypic evolution and the forces that drive evolutionary dynamics. Here we review how these methodological advances are being used to predict and manipulate the course of laboratory evolution, analyse eco-evolutionary interactions, and how they are beginning to bridge the gap between laboratory and natural evolution.