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This research aims to investigate how the variance in descendant number evolves over long timescales and its effects on genetic drift.

August 5, 2026Genetics

The evolution of genetic drift over 50,000 generations

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Randomized trial uncovers how genetic drift evolves in E. coli, suggesting significant implications for adaptation.

This research aims to investigate how the variance in descendant number evolves over long timescales and its effects on genetic drift.
Used model-based Bayesian inference to analyze frequency fluctuations of lineages
Tracked census population sizes over growth cycles in E. coli Long-Term Evolution Experiment
Studied 33 clones over 50,000 generations in two replicate populations
Ara+2 retained a bottleneck expectation, whereas Ara-2 showed 1.5–5× stronger drift (p<0.05)
Significant changes in both census size and descendant number variance over time
Shifts in descendant number variance drove most variability in effective population size

Ascensao et al. (2026) studied this question.

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