Biologia Evolutiva

Interesse da Investigação

In general, the area of research that we am interested is Evolutionary Biology.
 We combine both theoretical and empirical work with the aim at understanding the major forces that shape variation in natural populations.

We are using E. coli as a model organism to test theoretical predictions about the evolution of mutation rates and the genetics of adaptation. Other topics of current work are: evolution of antibiotic resistance and antigenic diversity in pathogens, and chromosomal speciation.

Membros do Grupo

Projecto de Investigação

Evolutionary genetics in Escherichia coli

All natural populations have to adapt to new environments. Knowledge of the genetics of adaptation should provide the centerpiece of a unified theory of evolution. Despite its extreme importance, the process of adaptation is far from being understood. For example: What is the rate at which positive Darwinian selection occurs? What is the distribution of fitness effects of mutations? Does adaptation involve the fixation of mutations with small or large effects? How do mutations interact? What are the relative costs and benefits in bacterial cells with high mutation rates? are some of the questions that we try to address.

Projecto de Investigação

Genetic Variation in Pathogen Populations

Genetic diversity of pathogen populations contains important information about their epidemiology and evolution. The understanding of this diversity is an important subject in evolutionary biology, ecology, epidemiology, population genetics and biomedical sciences. The standard neutral model of M. Kimura is far too simple for understanding pathogen genetic diversity.
In this project we study non standard neutral models that aim at being simple enough, but not too simple, so as to account for demographic processes likely to occur in natural pathogen populations.

Projecto de Investigação

Epistasis and antibiotic resistance

Even with the success of antibiotics, the rapid evolution of multiple antibiotic resistances constitutes an increasing health problem. We are studying the importance of genetic interactions in the evolution of antibiotic resistance. In particular the costs of multiple resistance and the rate of compensatory adaptation.

Funding

PTDC/BIA-BDE/65276/2006
Diversity and molecular evolution of pathogen populations

PTDC/BIA-EVF/114622/2009
Epistasis and antibiotic resistance

ECOADAPT- 260421
Adaptation within ecosystems, European Research Council Grant

Publicações

Selected (updated November) (2011).

Sousa A., Magalhães S., Gordo, I. (2011). Cost of antibiotic resistance and the geometry of adaptation Molecular Biology and Evolution (in press)

Perfeito L, Sousa A. Gordo, I. (2011). Fitness effects of mutations in bacteria Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology.

Silva RF, Mendonça SCM, Carvalho LM, Reis AM, Gordo, I., et al. (2011). Pervasive Sign Epistasis between Conjugative Plasmids and Drug-Resistance Chromosomal Mutations. PLoS Genet 7(7) :e1002181 Link

Brito P, E. Guilherme, H. Soares and Gordo, I. (2010). Mutation accumulation in Tetrahymena BMC Evolutionary Biology 10 :354

Trindade S., Perfeito L. and Gordo, I. (2010). Rate and effects of spontaneous mutations that affect fitness in mutator Escherichia coli Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 27, 365 :1544 1177-1186

Trindade S, Sousa A, Xavier KB, Dionisio F, Ferreira MG and Gordo, I. (2009). Positive Epistasis Drives the Acquisition of Multidrug Resistance Plos Genetics 5(7) :e1000578

Gordo, I., Gomes M.G.M., Reis, D.G. and P.R.A. Campos (2009). Genetic diversity in The SIR model of pathogen evolution Plos One 4(3) :e4876

Gordo, I. and PRA Campos (2008). Sex and deleterious mutations Genetics 179 :621-626

Perfeito, L, MI Pereira, PRA Campos and Gordo, I. (2008). The effect of spatial structure on adaptation in Escherichia coli Biol. Letters 4(1) :57-59

Perfeito L, L. Fernandes, C. Mota and Gordo, I. (2007). Adaptive Mutations in Bacteria: High Rate and Small Effects. Science 317(5839) :813-5

Gordo I. and PRA Campos (2007). Patterns of genetic variation in populations of infectious agents. BMC Evol Biol. 7(1) :116

Dionisio, F. and Gordo, I. (2006). The tragedy of the commons, the public goods dilemma and the significance of rivalry and excludability in Evolutionary Biology Evolution and Ecology Research 8 :321-332

Gordo, I. and Campos, P.R.A. (2006). Adaptive evolution in a spatially structured asexual population Genetica 127 :217-229

Dionisio, F., Conceição, I. C., Marques, A. C. R., Fernandes, L. and Gordo, I. (2005). The evolution of a conjugative plasmid and its ability to increase bacterial fitness Proc Roy. Soc London- Biology Letters 1 :250–252

Bachtrog D. and Gordo, I. (2004). Adaptation of asexual populations under Muller’s ratchet. Evolution (in press)

Gordo, I., Navarro, A.and Charlesworth, B. (2002). Muller's ratchet and the pattern of variation at a neutral locus. Genetics 161(2) :835-848

Gordo, I. and Charlesworth, B. (2001). Genetic linkage and molecular evolution. Current Biology 11(17) :R684-R686

Gordo, I. and Charlesworth, B. (2000). The degeneration of asexual haploid populations and the speed of Muller's ratchet. Genetics 154(3) :1379-1387