What happens when Klebsiella's capsule locus is swapped? Unexpectedly little in terms of cell growth. Yet, it does change the bacterium's environment and interactions with it: evolution by seamless plug-and-play capsule swap. Led by @julielebris.bsky.social @olayarendueles.bsky.social
Eduardo Rocha
So happy to see this finally published in @plosbiology.org!
This is the first chapter of @julielebris.bsky.social PhD thesis demonstrating how capsules are exchanged by plug-and-play dynamics
w/ @epcrocha.bsky.social
#microsky @klebclub.bsky.social
Link below-
Check out her 🧵 for more details!
How complex multi-gene systems evolve across genetic backgrounds without disruptive epistasis remains unclear, particularly in highly exchangeable loci such as the capsule of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Th...
How complex functions, with important physiological and evolutionary impacts get repeatedly and efficiently transferred across genomes?
That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus.
The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thread👇
www.biorxiv.org
Understanding how complex, multi-gene systems evolve and function across genetic backgrounds is a central question in molecular evolution. While such systems often impose costs through epistatic inter...
