Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation
The ongoing rise in global temperatures poses significant challenges to ecosystems, particularly impacting bacterial communities that are central to biogeochemical cycles. The resilience of wild mesophilic bacteria to temperature increases of 2–4 °C remains poorly understood. In this study, we condu...
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2024-12-01
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| author | Enrique Hurtado-Bautista Africa Islas-Robles Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez |
| author_facet | Enrique Hurtado-Bautista Africa Islas-Robles Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez |
| author_sort | Enrique Hurtado-Bautista |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The ongoing rise in global temperatures poses significant challenges to ecosystems, particularly impacting bacterial communities that are central to biogeochemical cycles. The resilience of wild mesophilic bacteria to temperature increases of 2–4 °C remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted experimental evolution on six wild <i>Bacillus</i> strains from two lineages (<i>Bacillus cereus</i> and <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>) to examine their thermal adaptation strategies. We exposed the bacteria to gradually increasing temperatures to assess their thermal plasticity, focusing on the genetic mechanisms underlying adaptation. While <i>B. subtilis</i> lineages improved growth at highly critical temperatures, only one increased its thermal niche to 4 °C above their natural range. This finding is concerning given climate change projections. <i>B. cereus</i> strains exhibited higher mutation rates but were not able to grow at increasing temperatures, while <i>B. subtilis</i> required fewer genetic changes to increase heat tolerance, indicating distinct adaptive strategies. We observed convergent evolution in five evolved lines, with mutations in genes involved in c-di-AMP synthesis, which is crucial for potassium transport, implicating this chemical messenger for the first time in heat tolerance. These insights highlight the vulnerability of bacteria to climate change and underscore the importance of genetic background in shaping thermal adaptation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-981683c3121947c1904b27ba72b5e36e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-981683c3121947c1904b27ba72b5e36e2024-12-27T14:12:15ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372024-12-011312108810.3390/biology13121088Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change AdaptationEnrique Hurtado-Bautista0Africa Islas-Robles1Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb2Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez3Departamento de Ingeniería Genética, Unidad Irapuato, Cinvestav 36824, MexicoDepartamento de Ingeniería Genética, Unidad Irapuato, Cinvestav 36824, MexicoDepartment of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, CanadaDepartamento de Ingeniería Genética, Unidad Irapuato, Cinvestav 36824, MexicoThe ongoing rise in global temperatures poses significant challenges to ecosystems, particularly impacting bacterial communities that are central to biogeochemical cycles. The resilience of wild mesophilic bacteria to temperature increases of 2–4 °C remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted experimental evolution on six wild <i>Bacillus</i> strains from two lineages (<i>Bacillus cereus</i> and <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>) to examine their thermal adaptation strategies. We exposed the bacteria to gradually increasing temperatures to assess their thermal plasticity, focusing on the genetic mechanisms underlying adaptation. While <i>B. subtilis</i> lineages improved growth at highly critical temperatures, only one increased its thermal niche to 4 °C above their natural range. This finding is concerning given climate change projections. <i>B. cereus</i> strains exhibited higher mutation rates but were not able to grow at increasing temperatures, while <i>B. subtilis</i> required fewer genetic changes to increase heat tolerance, indicating distinct adaptive strategies. We observed convergent evolution in five evolved lines, with mutations in genes involved in c-di-AMP synthesis, which is crucial for potassium transport, implicating this chemical messenger for the first time in heat tolerance. These insights highlight the vulnerability of bacteria to climate change and underscore the importance of genetic background in shaping thermal adaptation.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/13/12/1088experimental evolutioncritical high temperaturephenotypic plasticitynorms of reaction to temperatureconvergent evolutionc-di-AMP |
| spellingShingle | Enrique Hurtado-Bautista Africa Islas-Robles Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation Biology experimental evolution critical high temperature phenotypic plasticity norms of reaction to temperature convergent evolution c-di-AMP |
| title | Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation |
| title_full | Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation |
| title_fullStr | Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation |
| title_short | Thermal Plasticity and Evolutionary Constraints in <i>Bacillus</i>: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation |
| title_sort | thermal plasticity and evolutionary constraints in i bacillus i implications for climate change adaptation |
| topic | experimental evolution critical high temperature phenotypic plasticity norms of reaction to temperature convergent evolution c-di-AMP |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/13/12/1088 |
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