Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Research in our group, focuses on understanding the rules of evolution. With this project, we've developed a new protocol to study how thermophilic microbes evolve, using controlled laboratory experiments. This will let us answer questions like how they respond to environmental change through adaptive evolution.

A major challenge is controlling cultivation conditions. Thermophiles require high temperature environments for growth, leading to high evaporation rates, and the risk of dried cultures, and growth plates over the incubation period. Another challenge is the slow growth rates of some thermophiles which can make rapid iteration testing challenging.

Our protocol addresses the major challenges associated with cultivating thermophilic microbes at multiple temperatures. We now have a better ability to control environmental conditions, ensuring the results we observe are consistent, and reflect the experimental conditions we impose. This will enable us to study thermophile adaptation in real-time.

Our protocol offers a high throughput method, not just for sulfolobus research, but adaptable to a variety of microorganisms. Using thermo mixers, we can carry out simultaneous studies at different temperatures, without requiring multiple large shaking incubators. It's also reduces energy costs, offering a greener pathway for this type of research.

Our findings pave the way for evolution experiments in sulfolobus and other thermophiles. Much of what we think we know about evolution comes from studying mesophilic organisms, and there's a risk that we're missing, the key rules from thermophiles that will help us explain how the diversity of life on earth has evolved.