Press Release 11-055
Some Outcomes of the Evolutionary Race Buck Conventional Wisdom

Organisms focusing on long-term mutations survive while others focusing on short-term fitness gains go extinct

Richard Lenski and another researcher examine a Petri dish used in a study of evolution. Credit and Larger Version

March 22, 2011

View a video with Richard Lenski of Michigan State University.

For broadcasters: Sound bites are available as SD .mov files from Stephen McNally at (703) 292-8365 and at smcnally@nsf.gov.

In some cases, less fit organisms may out-survive their in-shape counterparts, according to a study reported in the March 18 issue of Science. The finding surprised researchers who assumed less fit organisms would be the eventual losers in evolution's fight for survival.

Microbial Ecology professor Richard Lenski of Michigan State University conducted the study with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Using easy-to-understand terms in a revealing video accompanying this release, Lenski describes his results and explains why his study is so unique.

"This remarkable long-term study continues to yield surprises, providing unprecedented detail on the richness and complexity of evolution," said Saran Twombly, a program manager in NSF's Division of Biological Infrastructure. "In this case, experiments reveal how and why the tradeoff between long-term success and short-term gain confers evolutionary success, providing evidence of a compromise long theorized to exist."

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Lily Whiteman, National Science Foundation (703) 292-8310 lwhitema@nsf.gov
Layne Cameron, Michigan State University (517) 353-8819 layne.cameron@ur.msu.edu

Program Contacts
Saran Twombly, National Science Foundation (703) 292-8133 stwombly@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Richard Lenski, Michigan State University (517) 884-5397 lenski@msu.edu

Related Websites
Michigan State University press release on the study: http://news.msu.edu/story/9096/
Richard Lenski's essay and interview in NSF's Evolution of Evolution Special Report: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/darwin/bio.jsp

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget was $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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