Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Introduction
On 7 December 1854, Louis Pasteur is quoted as saying ‘Dans les champs de l'observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.’ This statement, which has been often translated as ‘Chance favours the prepared mind’, can, after slight modification, also be applied to the interaction of micro-organisms with anthropogenic growth substrates. Namely, that chance favours the prepared bacterium! Given the strong selection pressure for growth of microorganisms in natural environments, microbial species that have the ability to rapidly acquire new genes that allow them to utilise newly introduced anthropogenic compounds gain a selective advantage for growth over others living in the same environment. This may eventually lead to changes in microbial populations and community structure over time.
While the evolution of microbial genes, and even pathways, for the catabolism of novel compounds released into the environment was originally thought to take long periods of time (on an evolutionary scale), recent evidence indicates that microbes and their genomes are relatively plastic (Jain et al.2002; Mira et al. 2002), and as such can evolve the ability to utilize new carbon and energy sources in a relatively short time frame, from years to tens of years (Seffernick & Wackett 2001). This phenomenon has led to paradigm shifts in the way in which we view microbial evolution and the potential impact of anthropogenic perturbations on microbial processes.
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