Campus Connection

Distinguished Professor Richard Lenski to share 25-year-old bacteria experiment

Richard Lenski has been watching evolution unfold in his lab for more than 25 years. Many think of evolution as a study of the past. But Lenski takes a microscopic look at evolution in the present as tens of thousands of generations of bacteria have evolved and adapted in small flasks of sugar water. Lenski, the John Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University, will share his 25-year-old bacteria experiment involving 60,000 generations of E. coli at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 10, in Skogen Auditorium, Centennial Hall. Lenski’s presentation, “Time Travel in Experimental Evolution,” is part of UWL’s Distinguished Speaker Series in the Life Sciences, sponsored by the College of Science and Health, and the departments of Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry and Microbiology. The annual event highlights advances in the life sciences by inviting a world-renowned scientist to speak to students, faculty and the community. Lenski has made seminal contributions to the understanding of the dynamic forces that affect evolution, says Peter Wilker, UWL assistant professor of Microbiology. “This is a fantastic opportunity for students and community members to hear about cutting-edge research that supports and expands our understanding of how evolution occurs,” says Wilker. Lenski says young scientists should go where their interest take them. “Science is not just a bunch of dry methods but also involves a lot of innovation and creativity,” he says. Studying bacteria and evolution may seem like two dissimilar scientific tracks, but connecting them allowed scientists to take a new approach toward understanding long-standing questions. Because bacteria reproduce so quickly and can be frozen and revived later, they are ideal for watching adaptation by natural selection — the process Charles Darwin discovered more than 150 years ago. Lenski and his team of researchers compete ‘modern’ bacteria against their frozen and revived ancestors. They have been observing 12 lineages of the bacteria to see how they have improved in the same or in different ways through evolution. In his talk, Lenski will present some results from this experiment. His research has provided insights into the process of adaptation by natural selection, the dynamics of genome evolution and the origin of new functions. It has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American and other national news sources. Lenski, a past president of the Society for the Study of Evolution, has had fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. If you go — Who: Richard Lenski, John Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University What: Distinguished Speaker Series in Life Sciences featuring the results of 25-year-old bacteria experiment Where: Skogen Auditorium, Centennial Hall When: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 10 Admission: Free