Evolution of evolvability and phenotypic plasticity in virtual cells

BACKGROUND: Changing environmental conditions pose a challenge for the survival of species. To meet this challenge organisms adapt their phenotype by physiological regulation (phenotypic plasticity) or by evolving. Regulatory mechanisms that ensure a constant internal environment in the face of continuous external fluctuations (homeostasis) are ubiquitous and essential for survival. However, more drastic and enduring environmental change, often requires lineages to adapt by mutating. In vitro evolutionary experiments with microbes show that adaptive, large phenotypic changes occur remarkably quickly, requiring only a few mutations. It has been proposed that the high evolvability demonstrated by these microbes, is an evolved property. If both regulation (phenotypic plasticity) and evolvability can evolve as strategies to adapt to change, what are the conditions that favour the emergence of either of these strategy? Does evolution of one strategy hinder or facilitate evolution of the other strategy? RESULTS: Here we investigate this with computational evolutionary modelling in populations of Virtual Cells. During a preparatory evolutionary phase, Virtual Cells evolved homeostasis regulation for internal metabolite concentrations in a fluctuating environment. The resulting wild-type Virtual Cell strains (WT-VCS) were then exposed to periodic, drastic environmental changes, while maintaining selection on homeostasis regulation. In different sets of simulations the nature and frequencies of environmental change were varied. Pre-evolved WT-VCS were highly evolvable, showing rapid evolutionary adaptation after novel environmental change. Moreover, continued low frequency changes resulted in evolutionary restructuring of the genome that enables even faster adaptation with very few mutations. In contrast, when change frequency is high, lineages evolve phenotypic plasticity that allows them to be fit in different environments without mutations. Yet, evolving phenotypic plasticity is a comparatively slow process. Under intermediate change frequencies, both strategies occur. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that evolving a homeostasis mechanisms predisposes lineage to be evolvable to novel environmental conditions. Moreover, after continued evolution, evolvability can be a viable alternative with comparable fitness to regulated phenotypic plasticity in all but the most rapidly changing environments. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-017-0918-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.