Presentation Information
[POS-05]Evolutionary rescue against stressful environments in obligate mutualism
*Sunagawa Junya1, Sarah P Otto3, Ryo Yamaguchi2 (1. Hokkaido University Graduate School of Life Science (Japan), 2. Hokkaido University Faculty of Advanced Life Science (Japan), 3. University of British Columbia (Canada))
Keywords:
evolutionary rescue,obligate mutualism,adaptive evolution
Biological systems undergo adaptive evolution in response to stressful environments. Previous studies have primarily focused on single species, but many aspects about adaptive evolution for communities composed of multiple interacting lineages remain unclear. As an example, in communities involving positive interactions such as cooperation, organisms incur the cost of dependency in exchange for mutual benefits. However, what exactly are the evolutionary consequences of these trade-off relationships?
In a previous study on the evolution of antibiotic resistance in an obligate mutualistic microbial community, a decrease in the abundance of one component species had the ecological consequence of adversely affecting its dependent partner, ultimately leading to extinction [1]. On the other hand, if adaptive evolution occurs within a community such as through the overexpression of an enzyme that inactivates a toxin, the dependent microbial species may benefit and escape extinction. In this study, we analyzed under what conditions communities of positively interacting organisms either become extinct or avoid extinction through adaptative evolution. In particular, we focused on obligate mutualism to capture how interspecific interactions affect evolutionary dynamics, especially in cases where the adaptive evolution of one component species confers benefits to the entire community. We constructed a model in which growth is possible only if the interacting partners provides the benefits. The results indicate that if the adaptive evolution of a component species fails to benefit the entire community, the community is more prone to extinction compared to a scenario involving a single species. In this presentation, we will discuss our analysis including cases where adaptive evolution confers community-level benefits and experimental approaches that extend beyond our theoretical framework.
[1] Pauli, Benedikt, et al. "Obligate mutualistic cooperation limits evolvability." Nature Communications 13.1 (2022): 337.
In a previous study on the evolution of antibiotic resistance in an obligate mutualistic microbial community, a decrease in the abundance of one component species had the ecological consequence of adversely affecting its dependent partner, ultimately leading to extinction [1]. On the other hand, if adaptive evolution occurs within a community such as through the overexpression of an enzyme that inactivates a toxin, the dependent microbial species may benefit and escape extinction. In this study, we analyzed under what conditions communities of positively interacting organisms either become extinct or avoid extinction through adaptative evolution. In particular, we focused on obligate mutualism to capture how interspecific interactions affect evolutionary dynamics, especially in cases where the adaptive evolution of one component species confers benefits to the entire community. We constructed a model in which growth is possible only if the interacting partners provides the benefits. The results indicate that if the adaptive evolution of a component species fails to benefit the entire community, the community is more prone to extinction compared to a scenario involving a single species. In this presentation, we will discuss our analysis including cases where adaptive evolution confers community-level benefits and experimental approaches that extend beyond our theoretical framework.
[1] Pauli, Benedikt, et al. "Obligate mutualistic cooperation limits evolvability." Nature Communications 13.1 (2022): 337.