Richard Lenski Explained

Richard E. Lenski
Fields:Evolutionary biology Experimental evolution Microbiology
Workplaces:Michigan State University
University of California, Irvine
Alma Mater:University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Oberlin College
Thesis Title:Effects of competition and disturbance on ground beetle populations
Thesis Url:https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9150582
Thesis Year:1982
Doctoral Advisor:Nelson Hairston
Academic Advisors:Bruce Levin (Postdoctoral Mentor)
Doctoral Students:Paul E. Turner
Zachary Blount
Michael Travisano
Known For:E. coli long-term evolution experiment
Awards:NCSE Friend of Darwin Award [1]
Sewall Wright Award
MacArthur Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship [2]

Richard E. Lenski (born 1956) is an American evolutionary biologist,[3] the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a MacArthur Fellow. Lenski is best known for his still ongoing -year-old long-term E. coli evolution experiment, which has been instrumental in understanding the core processes of evolution, including mutation rates,[4] clonal interference,[5] antibiotic resistance,[6] the evolution of novel traits,[7] and speciation.[8] He is also well known for his pioneering work in studying evolution digitally using self-replicating organisms called Avida.

Early life

Richard Lenski is the son of the sociologist Gerhard Lenski and the poet Jean Lenski.[9] He is also the great-nephew of children's author Lois Lenski and the great-grandson of Lutheran commentator Richard C. H. Lenski. He earned his AB from Oberlin College in 1976, and his PhD from the University of North Carolina in 1982.[10]

Scientific career

After completing his doctoral degree, Lenski did postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Bruce Levin at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he began his work studying microbiology. In 1985, Lenski joined the faculty in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine, and he was promoted to associate professor there in 1988.[11] In 1991, Lenski moved his lab to Michigan State University, joining the NSF Science and Technology Center for Microbial Ecology there. Lenski did sabbaticals at Oxford University, working with Robert May,[12] and the University of Montpellier, hosted by Isabelle Olivieri.

Research

E. coli experiment

See main article: E. coli long-term evolution experiment.

The E. coli long-term evolution experiment is an ongoing study in experimental evolution led by Richard Lenski that has been tracking genetic changes in 12 initially identical populations of asexual Escherichia coli bacteria since 24 February 1988.[13] The populations reached the milestone of 75,000 generations in 2022.[14]

Since the experiment's inception, Lenski and his colleagues have reported a wide array of genetic changes; some evolutionary adaptations have occurred in all 12 populations, while others have only appeared in one or a few populations. One particularly striking adaptation was the evolution of a strain of E. coli that was able to use citrate as a carbon source in an aerobic environment.[15] A defining characteristic of E. coli is its inability to use citrate as an energy source under oxic conditions.[16]

Avida simulation

Richard Lenski has collaborated with Charles Ofria, Chris Adami, and others on research using an artificial life computer program that allows detailed analyses on the evolution of complex systems. The system allows the user to set the rate of random mutations, while natural selection acts within a virtual world promotes those mutations that provide beneficial traits (and selects against deleterious mutations). The program was dubbed Avida and starts with an artificial petri dish where organisms reproduce and perform mathematical calculations to acquire rewards in the form of increased computer time for replication. The program randomly adds mutations to copies of the artificial organisms, whicha re then subject to natural selection. As the artificial life reproduces, different lines adapt and evolve depending on their environments. The program aims to parallel the evolution of biological life in a highly abstracted form and at a much faster speed.[17] [18] [19] [20]

Media

In August 2013, having been inspired by a presentation by Titus Brown on the role of social media in science, Lenski began blogging at Telliamed Revisited and tweeting as @RELenski.[21]

Lenski's research has received considerable attention, including lengthy discussion in Carl Zimmer's book on E. coli, Microcosm, and in Richard Dawkins' book on the evidence for evolution, The Greatest Show on Earth. Included in Dawkins' discussion was a description of the dialog Lenski had in 2008 with Andrew Schlafly, creator of Conservapedia, which Schlafly initiated as a reaction to reports of Lenski's description of the evolution of aerobic citrate usage in one of the long-term evolution experiment populations. These same findings were later cited by the creationist Ken Ham in a debate over evolution with Bill Nye. Lenski strongly criticized Ham's citation of his work and the conclusions Ham drew from it.[22]

In 2021, Lenski was interviewed about the long-term evolution experiment by Derek Muller for a Veritasium video, which has been viewed over 6 million times.[23]

Honors

Lenski was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1991 and a MacArthur Fellowship in 1996, and in 2006 he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences.[24]

Lenski is a fellow at the American Academy of Microbiology[25] and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,[26] and he holds the title of the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University.[27]

On February 17, 2010, he co-founded the NSF Science and Technology Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, known as the BEACON Center.

He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2018.[28]

Lenski was the recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution.[29]

Selected works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MSU's Richard Lenski wins 2017 Friend of Darwin award.
  2. Web site: John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Richard E. Lenski.
  3. News: Richard Lenski . . 2008 . 2008-09-17.
  4. Tenaillon. Olivier. Barrick. Jeffrey E.. Ribeck. Noah. Deatherage. Daniel E.. Blanchard. Jeffrey L.. Dasgupta. Aurko. Wu. Gabriel C.. Wielgoss. Sébastien. Cruveiller. Stéphane. 2016-08-11. Tempo and mode of genome evolution in a 50,000-generation experiment. Nature. en. 536. 7615. 165–170. 10.1038/nature18959. 0028-0836. 4988878. 27479321. 2016Natur.536..165T.
  5. Maddamsetti. Rohan. Lenski. Richard E.. Barrick. Jeffrey E.. 2015-06-01. Adaptation, Clonal Interference, and Frequency-Dependent Interactions in a Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli. Genetics. en. 200. 2. 619–631. 10.1534/genetics.115.176677. 0016-6731. 4492384. 25911659.
  6. Lenski. R. E.. 1998-12-01. Bacterial evolution and the cost of antibiotic resistance. International Microbiology. 1. 4. 265–270. 1139-6709. 10943373.
  7. Blount. Zachary D.. Borland. Christina Z.. Lenski. Richard E.. 2008-06-10. Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. en. 105. 23. 7899–7906. 10.1073/pnas.0803151105. 0027-8424. 2430337. 18524956. 2008PNAS..105.7899B. free.
  8. Meyer. Justin R.. Dobias. Devin T.. Medina. Sarah J.. Servilio. Lisa. Gupta. Animesh. Lenski. Richard E.. 2016-11-24. Ecological speciation of bacteriophage lambda in allopatry and sympatry. Science. 354. 6317. en. 1301–1304. 10.1126/science.aai8446. 0036-8075. 27884940. 2016Sci...354.1301M. free.
  9. Richard Lenski . relenski. 501149475541618688 . August 17, 2014 . Photo of Richard Lenski and Gerhard Lenski for the father's 90th birthday . August 18, 2014 .
  10. Book: Campbell. Neil A.. Reece. Jane B.. Biology. registration. 7. 538–539. 978-0-8053-7146-8. 2005. Pearson, Benjamin Cummings .
  11. Web site: Richard Lenski Biographical Sketch . 2024-08-23 . lenski.mmg.msu.edu.
  12. Lenski . Richard E. . May . Robert M. . 1994-08-07 . The Evolution of Virulence in Parasites and Pathogens: Reconciliation Between Two Competing Hypotheses . Journal of Theoretical Biology . 169 . 3 . 253–265 . 10.1006/jtbi.1994.1146 . 0022-5193.
  13. Web site: Richard E. . Lenski . Source of founding strain . Michigan State University . Richard E. Lenski Homepage . 2000 . 2008-06-18 . 2018-05-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180531192907/http://myxo.css.msu.edu/ecoli/strainsource.html . dead .
  14. Lenski . Richard . February 15, 2023 . Revisiting the Design of the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli . Journal of Molecular Evolution . 91 . 1. 241–253 . 10.1007/s00239-023-10095-3 . 36790511 . 2023JMolE..91..241L . 256869639 .
  15. 7899–906 . 10.1073/pnas.0803151105 . Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli . 2008 . Blount . Zachary D. . Borland . Christina Z. . Lenski . Richard E. . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 105 . 23 . 25462703 . 18524956 . 2008PNAS..105.7899B . 2430337. free .
  16. Blount . Zachary . Borland . Christina . Lenski . Richard . June 10, 2008 . Historical contingency and the evolution of a key innovation in an experimental population of Escherichia coli . PNAS . 105 . 23 . 7899–7906. 10.1073/pnas.0803151105 . 18524956 . 2430337 . 2008PNAS..105.7899B . free .
  17. Lenski. R. E.. Ofria. C.. Pennock. R. T.. Adami. C.. 2003. Charles Ofria. Robert T. Pennock. Chris Adami. The evolutionary origin of complex features. Nature. 423. 139–144. 2003Natur.423..139L. 10.1038/nature01568. 12736677. 6936. 4401833. 2013-08-20. 2021-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121232710/http://myxo.css.msu.edu/papers/nature2003/Nature03_Complex.pdf. dead.
  18. Web site: Digital organisms used to confirm evolutionary process . 2011-03-21 . American Association for the Advancement of Science .
  19. Web site: Artificial life experiments show how complex functions can evolve . 2011-03-21 . American Association for the Advancement of Science .
  20. Evolution of digital organisms at high mutation rates leads to survival of the flattest. Richard E. Lenski . Charles Ofria . Claus O. Wilke . Jia Lan Wang . Christoph Adami . amp . Nature. 2001-07-19. 412. 331–3. 10.1038/35085569. 6844 . 11460163. 2001Natur.412..331W . 1482925 .
  21. Web site: Welcome to Telliamed Revisited. Richard Lenski. August 19, 2013.
  22. https://telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/ham-on-nye-debate-follow-up-1/, https://telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/ham-on-nye-debate-follow-up-2/, https://telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/zachary-blount-on-ham-on-nye-debate-follow-up-3/
  23. The Longest-Running Evolution Experiment . 2021-06-16 . Veritasium . 2024-08-23 . YouTube.
  24. United States National Academy of Sciences member list, "Member directory", Richard E. Lenski , 2006
  25. Web site: American Academy of Microbiology . 2024-08-23 . ASM.org . en.
  26. Web site: 2024-08-23 . Richard E. Lenski American Academy of Arts and Sciences . 2024-08-23 . www.amacad.org . en.
  27. Web site: Richard Lenski Honored Faculty Michigan State University . 2024-08-23 . msu.edu.
  28. Web site: Election of New Members at the 2018 Spring Meeting .
  29. Web site: Society for the Study of Evolution . 2021-07-04 . www.evolutionsociety.org . en.

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