Publications

Preprint (07/2020): Synergistic epistasis enhances cooperativity of mutualistic interspecies interactions

Serdar Turkarslan, Nejc Stopnisek, Anne W Thompson, Christina E Arens, Jacob J Valenzuela, James Wilson, Kristopher A Hunt, Jessica Hardwicke, Sujung Lim, Yee Mey Seah, Ying Fu, Liyou Wu, Jizhong Zhou, Kristina L Hillesland, David A Stahl, Nitin S Baliga bioRxiv 2020.06.22.160184; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.22.160184

Hillesland KL. 2017. Evolution on the bright side of life: Microorganisms and the evolution of mutualism. Annals of the NY Acad Sci. ISSN: 0077-8923

Aifen Zhou, Rebecca Lau, Richard Baran, Jincai Ma, Frederick von Netzer, Weiling Shi, Drew Gorman-Lewis, Megan L. Kempher, Zhili He, Yujia Qin, Zhou Shi, Grant M. Zane, Liyou Wu, Benjamin P. Bowen, Trent R. Northen, Kristina L. Hillesland, David A. Stahl, Judy D. Wall, Adam P. Arkin, Jizhong Zhou. (2017) Key metabolites and mechanistic changes for salt tolerance in an experimentally evolved sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulfovibrio vulgaris. mBio vol. 8 no. 6 e01780-17

Serdar Turkarslan, Arjun V Raman, Anne W Thompson, Christina E Arens, Mark A Gillespie, Frederick von Netzer, Kristina L Hillesland, Sergey Stolyar, Adrian López García de Lomana, David J Reiss, Drew Gorman‐Lewis, Grant M Zane, Jeffrey A Ranish, Judy D Wall, David A Stahl, Nitin S Baliga. (2017) Mechanism for microbial population collapse in a fluctuating resource environment. Mol Syst Biol 13:3 _ DOI 10.15252/msb.20167058

Zhou A, Hillesland KL, He Z, Schackwitz W, Tu Q, Zane G, Ma Q, Qu Y, Stahl D, Wall J, Arkin A, Hazen T, and Fields M. (2015) Rapid selective sweep of pre-existing polymorphisms and slow fixation of new mutations in Desulfovibrio vulgaris. ISME Journal. 9(11), 2360-2372.

Hillesland KL, Lim S, Flowers JJ, Turkarslan S, Pinel N, Zane GM, Elliott N, Qin Y, Wu L, Baliga NS, Zhou J, Wall JD, Stahl DA. (2014). Erosion of functional independence early in the evolution of a microbial mutualism. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 111 (41):14822-14827.

Rajeev L, Hillesland KL, Zane G, Zhou A, Joachimiak MP, He Z, Zhou J, Arkin A, Wall JK, Stahl DA. (2012). Deletion of the Desulfovibrio vulgaris carbon monoxide sensor invokes global changes in transcription. J. Bacteriology. 194 (21): 5783-5793.

Hillesland KL, Stahl DA, Harcombe H. (2011). Measuring the costs of microbial mutualism. Microbe 6:427-434.

Momeni B*, Chen C*, Hillesland KL*, Waite A, Shou W. (2011). Using artificial systems to explore ecology and evolution of symbiosis. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 68 (8): 1353-1368.

Zhou J, He Q, Hemme CL, Mukhopadhyay A, Hillesland K, Zhou A, He Z, van Nostrand JD, Hazen TC, Stahl DA, Wall JD, Arkin AP. (2011) How sulphate-reducing organisms cope with stress: lessons from systems biology. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 9: 452-466.

Hillesland KL, Stahl DA. (2010) Rapid evolution of stability and productivity at the origin of a microbial mutualism. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 107:2124-2129

-featured in Nature – Brockhurst M. (2010). Journal Club: An evolutionary biologist marvels at how species evolve to help each other out. Nature 464 (7288):469.

Morgan AD, MacLean RC, Hillesland KL, Velicer GJ. (2010). Comparative analysis of Myxococcus predation on soil bacteria. Appl. Env. Microbiol. 76 (20): 6920-6927.

Hillesland KL, Lenski RE, Velicer GJ. (2009). Experimental evolution of a predator’s ability to find prey. Proc Roy Soc Lon B 276: 459-467.

-featured in the German newspaper, The Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung and the textbook: "Evolution: making sense of life" by Doug Emlen and Karl Zimmer.

Stolyar S, Van Dien S, Hillesland KL, Pinel N, Lie T, Leigh J, Stahl D. (2007). Metabolic model of a mutualistic microbial community. Mol Syst Biol 3:92.

Velicer GJ, Hillesland KL. (2007). Why cooperate? The ecology and evolution of myxobacteria. In Myxobacteria: Multicellularity and Differentiation (ed. D. E. Whitworth), pp. 520: ASM Press.

Hillesland KL, Lenski RE, Velicer GJ. (2007). Ecological variables affecting predatory success in Myxococcus xanthus. Microb Ecol 53, 571-578.

Hillesland KL, Velicer GJ. (2005). Resource level affects relative performance of the two motility systems of Myxococcus xanthus. Microb Ecol 49: 558-566.

Velicer GJ, Stredwick KL. (2002). Experimental social evolution with Myxococcus xanthus. Ant von Leeuwenhoek 81: 155-164.

Recent Presentations (* Undergraduate presenter)

ASM Microbe 2016. Douglas Henderson*, Samantha Horvath*, Chelsea Broomhead*, Dakotah Kidd*, Andrei Kasarda*, Chelsea Lubong*, Kulmeet Singh*, Colin Feng, Kristina Hillesland. Is specialization a typical outcome of 1000 generations of evolution in mutualism?

ASM Microbe 2016. Stephen Wallen*, Vladislav Bravman*, Irina Stroynyy*, Samantha Rhothisen*, Aryanne Macarulay*, Yemesrach Demissie*, Colin Feng, Kristina Hillesland. Tests for coevolution in a microbial mutualism.

EVO-WIBO, Port Townsend Washington, 2016. Andrew Tagle, Samantha Rhothisen*, Aryanne Macarulay*, Colin Feng, and Kristina Hillesland. Testing for a tradeoff between respiration and interspecific fermentation.

EVO-WIBO, Port Townsend Washington, 2016. Kathleen Luu, Charlie England, Stephen Wallen*, Briar Burgess, Kristina Hillesland, Sujung Lim, Andy Strehler and Heidi Gough. Looking for Evolution in Wastewater Treatment Plants.

EVO-WIBO, Port Townsend Washington, 2016. Irina Stroynyy*, Yemesrach Demissie*, Douglas Henderson, Kristina Hillesland. Is specialization a typical outcome of 1000 generations of evolution in mutualism?

EVO-WIBO, Port Townsend Washington, 2016. Colin Feng, Sujung Lim, Kristina Hillesland. Can efficient mutualism evolve as a byproduct of adapting to abiotic environment? (poster)

BEACON Congress, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, 2015. Andrew Tagle*, Colin Feng, Sujung Lim, Trevor Mckoy*, and Kristina Hillesland. Testing for a tradeoff between respiration and cooperative fermentation.

BEACON Congress, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, 2015. Kathleen Luu*, Charlie England, Briar Burgess, Colin Feng, Sujung Lim, Kristina Hillesland, Andy Strehler, and Heidi Gough. 2015. Looking for Evolution in Wastewater Treatment Plants.

ASMCUE 2015, Austin Texas. K Hillesland. Microbrew session: Teaching microbial evolution in present tense.

Gordon conference on microbial population biology, Andover NG 2015. Kristina L Hillesland, Samantha Horvath*, Chelsea Broomhead*, Dakotah Kidd*, Andrei Kasarda*, Chelsea Lubong*, Kulmeet Sing*h. Limited Evidence that byproduct mutualists adapt specifically to their local population within 1000 generations of evolution. (poster)

1^st ASM conference on Experimental Microbial Evolution, Washington DC. 2014. Colin Feng*, Sujung Lim , Marc Vrana , Grant Zane, Judy Wall , Kristina Hillesland. Is specialization for mutualism beneficial? Investigating why a sulfate-reducer lost its defining metabolic

BEACON congress, East Lansing MI, 2014. Colin Feng*, Sujung Lim, Marc Vrana, Grant Zane, Judy Wall, and Kristina Hillesland^. Is specialization for mutualism beneficial? Investigating why a sulfate-reducer lost its defining metabolic feature.