Genomic Evolution in Pseudomonas fluorescens as a Result of Gradual Temperature Changes

Abstract

As climate change continues to affect global temperatures, organisms will need to not only adapt but evolve to survive the changing climate conditions. Temperature selection experiments were performed on Pseudomonas fluorescens to select for growth at lower temperatures. The P. fluorescens temperature selection experiment selected for cells that can grow at a new minimum temperature which is over 20˚C lower than the optimal growth temperature (25-30˚C). Previous experiments established the low end of P. fluorescens’s growth temperature as 4˚C. The genomes of the newly selected and reference strains of P. fluorescens were sent for sequencing, and the results showed differences in protein sequence between the two strains. This experiment is a model for evolution as a result of gradual temperature change (similar to climate change) over generations, and the resulting genomic changes recorded show which protein families could evolve as an organism adapts to a gradually changing temperature.