Richard E. Lenski (born 1956) is an American evolutionary biologist who is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of

Microbial Ecology Microbial ecology (or environmental microbiology) is a discipline where the interaction of Microorganism, microorganisms and their environment are studied. Microorganisms are known to have important and harmful ecological relationships within t ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

. He is a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and a MacArthur Fellow. Lenski is best known for his still ongoing -year-old long-term ''E. coli'' evolution experiment, which has been instrumental in understanding the core processes of evolution, including

mutation rate In genetics, the mutation rate is the frequency of new mutations in a single gene, nucleotide sequence, or organism over time. Mutation rates are not constant and are not limited to a single type of mutation; there are many different types of mu ...

s, clonal interference,

antibiotic resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resis ...

, the

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

of novel traits, and

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

. He is also well known for his pioneering work in studying evolution digitally using self-replicating organisms called Avida.

Early life

Richard Lenski is the son of the sociologist

Gerhard Lenski Gerhard Emmanuel "Gerry" Lenski, Jr. (August 13, 1924 – December 7, 2015) was an American sociologist known for contributions to the sociology of religion, social inequality, and introducing the ecological-evolutionary theory. He spent much of ...

and the poet Jean Lenski. He is also the great-nephew of children's author

Lois Lenski Lois Lenore Lenski Covey (October 14, 1893 – September 11, 1974) was a Newbery Medal-winning author and illustrator of picture books and children's literature. Beginning in 1927 with her first books, ''Skipping Village'' and ''Jack Horner's Pie: ...

, the great-grandson of

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

commentator Richard C. H. Lenski, and the son-in-law of child development psychologist Alice Honig. He earned his AB from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1976, and his PhD from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in 1982.

Scientific career

After completing his doctoral degree, Lenski did postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Bruce Levin at the

University of Massachusetts, Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...

, where he began his work studying microbiology. In 1985, Lenski joined the faculty in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, and he was promoted to associate professor there in 1988. In 1991, Lenski moved his lab to Michigan State University, joining the NSF Science and Technology Center for Microbial Ecology there. Lenski did sabbaticals at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, working with Robert May, and the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

, hosted by Isabelle Olivieri.

Research

''E. coli'' experiment

The ''E. coli'' long-term evolution experiment is an ongoing study in experimental evolution led by Richard Lenski that has been tracking genetic changes in 12 initially identical populations of asexual ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...

'' bacteria since 24 February 1988. The populations reached the milestone of 75,000 generations in 2022. Since the experiment's inception, Lenski and his colleagues have reported a wide array of genetic changes; some evolutionary

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

s have occurred in all 12 populations, while others have only appeared in one or a few populations. One particularly striking adaptation was the evolution of a strain of ''E. coli'' that was able to use

citrate Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a colorless weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits. In biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relati ...

as a carbon source in an aerobic environment. A defining characteristic of ''E. coli'' is its inability to use citrate as an energy source under oxic conditions.

Avida simulation

Richard Lenski has collaborated with Charles Ofria, Chris Adami, and others on research using an

artificial life Artificial life (ALife or A-Life) is a field of study wherein researchers examine systems related to natural life, its processes, and its evolution, through the use of simulations with computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. The discipline ...

computer program that allows detailed analyses on the evolution of complex systems. The system allows the user to set the rate of random mutations, while natural selection acts within a virtual world promotes those mutations that provide beneficial traits (and selects against deleterious mutations). The program was dubbed Avida and starts with an artificial petri dish where organisms reproduce and perform mathematical calculations to acquire rewards in the form of increased computer time for replication. The program randomly adds mutations to copies of the artificial organisms, whicha re then subject to natural selection. As the artificial life reproduces, different lines adapt and evolve depending on their environments. The program aims to parallel the evolution of biological life in a highly abstracted form and at a much faster speed.

Media

In August 2013, having been inspired by a presentation by Titus Brown on the role of social media in science, Lenski began blogging a
Telliamed Revisited
and tweeting a
@RELenski
Lenski's research has received considerable attention, including lengthy discussion in Carl Zimmer's book on ''E. coli'', ''Microcosm'', and in

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...

' book on the evidence for evolution, '' The Greatest Show on Earth''. Included in Dawkins' discussion was a description of the dialog Lenski had in 2008 with Andrew Schlafly, creator of Conservapedia, which Schlafly initiated as a reaction to reports of Lenski's description of the evolution of aerobic citrate usage in one of the long-term evolution experiment populations. These same findings were later cited by the creationist Ken Ham in a

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

over

with Bill Nye. Lenski strongly criticized Ham's citation of his work and the conclusions Ham drew from it.https://telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/ham-on-nye-debate-follow-up-1/, https://telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2014/02/06/ham-on-nye-debate-follow-up-2/, https://telliamedrevisited.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/zachary-blount-on-ham-on-nye-debate-follow-up-3/ In 2021, Lenski was interviewed about the long-term evolution experiment by Derek Muller for a ''Veritasium'' video, which has been viewed over 6 million times.

Honors

Lenski was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

in 1996, and in 2006 he was elected to the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. Lenski is a

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

at the American Academy of Microbiology and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, and he holds the title of the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of

. On February 17, 2010, he co-founded the NSF Science and Technology Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, known as the BEACON Center. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 2018. Lenski was the recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution.

Selected works

* Lenski, R. E., and M. Travisano. 1994. Dynamics of adaptation and diversification: a 10,000-generation experiment with bacterial populations. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA'' 91: 6808-6814. * Lenski, R. E., and R. M. May. 1994. The evolution of virulence in parasites and pathogens: reconciliation between two competing hypotheses. ''Journal of Theoretical Biology'' 169: 253-265. * Bohannan, B. J. M., and R. E. Lenski. 2000. Linking genetic change to community evolution: insights from studies of bacteria and bacteriophage. ''Ecology Letters'' 3: 362-377. * Lenski, R. E., C. Ofria, R. T. Pennock, and C. Adami. 2003. The evolutionary origin of complex features. ''Nature'' 423: 139-144. * Blount, Z. D., J. E. Barrick, C. J. Davidson, and R. E. Lenski. 2012. Genomic analysis of a key innovation in an experimental ''Escherichia coli'' population. ''Nature'' 489: 513-518. * Wiser, M. J., N. Ribeck, and R. E. Lenski. 2013. Long-term dynamics of adaptation in asexual populations. ''Science'' 342: 1364-1367. * Tenaillon, O., J. E. Barrick, N. Ribeck, D. E. Deatherage, J. L. Blanchard, A. Dasgupta, G. C. Wu, S. Wielgoss, S. Cruveiller, C. Médigue, D. Schneider, and R. E. Lenski. 2016. Tempo and mode of genome evolution in a 50,000-generation experiment. ''Nature'' 536: 165-170. OI: 10.1038/nature18959* Losos, J. B., and R. E. Lenski, eds. 2016. ''How Evolution Shapes Our Lives: Essays on Biology and Society''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. * Blount, Z. D., R. E. Lenski, and J. B. Losos. 2018. Contingency and determinism in evolution: replaying life’s tape. ''Science'' 362: eaam5979. OI: 10.1126/science.aam5979

References

External links

List of publications at Google Scholar

''E. coli'' Long-term Experimental evolution site

BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action

The Loom : A New Step In Evolution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenski, Richard 1956 births American evolutionary biologists Living people MacArthur Fellows Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Michigan State University faculty Oberlin College alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Phage workers 21st-century American biologists Santa Fe Institute people Fellows of the Ecological Society of America Members of the American Philosophical Society Researchers of artificial life American microbiologists