Resource competition and social conflict in experimental populations of yeast

MacLean, R. Craig; Gudelj, Ivana

doi:10.1038/nature04624

Cited by 267 publications

(334 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The production of inhibitory intermediates and endproducts could also lead to biochemical conflicts between different metabolic processes (Fay, 1992;Pfeiffer and Bonhoeffer, 2004;Costa et al, 2006;MacLean and Gudelj, 2006). One example is the antagonistic effect of oxygenic photosynthesis on nitrogen fixation.…”

Section: Conflicts Resulting From Inhibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolic specialization and the assembly of microbial communities

et al. 2012

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Metabolic specialization is a general biological principle that shapes the assembly of microbial communities. Individual cell types rarely metabolize a wide range of substrates within their environment. Instead, different cell types often specialize at metabolizing only subsets of the available substrates. What is the advantage of metabolizing subsets of the available substrates rather than all of them? In this perspective piece, we argue that biochemical conflicts between different metabolic processes can promote metabolic specialization and that a better understanding of these conflicts is therefore important for revealing the general principles and rules that govern the assembly of microbial communities. We first discuss three types of biochemical conflicts that could promote metabolic specialization. Next, we demonstrate how knowledge about the consequences of biochemical conflicts can be used to predict whether different metabolic processes are likely to be performed by the same cell type or by different cell types. We then discuss the major challenges in identifying and assessing biochemical conflicts between different metabolic processes and propose several approaches for their measurement. Finally, we argue that a deeper understanding of the biochemical causes of metabolic specialization could serve as a foundation for the field of synthetic ecology, where the objective would be to rationally engineer the assembly of a microbial community to perform a desired biotransformation.

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Section: Conflicts Resulting From Inhibitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolic specialization and the assembly of microbial communities

et al. 2012

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“…The competing strains were isogenic except for a single mutation that made one strain capable of using only the more efficient process of respiration but slowed growth rate. The other strain gained energy primarily through the less efficient process of fermentation and grew more rapidly (Maclean and Gudelj, 2006). When these strains competed in a homogenous, continuous culture, the rapid growing organism was more fit and outcompeted the efficient organism.…”

Section: When Is Efficient Growth Favored?mentioning

confidence: 98%

The physiology and ecological implications of efficient growth

2015

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The natural habitats of microbes are typically spatially structured with limited resources, so opportunities for unconstrained, balanced growth are rare. In these habitats, selection should favor microbes that are able to use resources most efficiently, that is, microbes that produce the most progeny per unit of resource consumed. On the basis of this assertion, we propose that selection for efficiency is a primary driver of the composition of microbial communities. In this article, we review how the quality and quantity of resources influence the efficiency of heterotrophic growth. A conceptual model proposing innate differences in growth efficiency between oligotrophic and copiotrophic microbes is also provided. We conclude that elucidation of the mechanisms underlying efficient growth will enhance our understanding of the selective pressures shaping microbes and will improve our capacity to manage microbial communities effectively.

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“…Two possible explanations for cooperative pathway usage have been given by MacLean and Gudelj [34]. In very instructive experiments, a respiro-fermenter (cheater) strain of S. cerevisiae competed against an otherwise identical respirator strain, TM6*.…”

Section: Choosing the "Best" Metabolic Pathwaymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MacLean and Gudelj [34] also studied local competition in isolated patches, where the cooperators persisted in the metapopulation consisting of all local populations in the patches, provided that the frequency of the cheaters and the density of the population were low enough so that sufficiently many patches were dominated by cooperators. Analogous to this study of respiratory vs. respiro-fermentative yeasts, T4 phages also differ in their efficiency of exploiting their resource, E. coli cells, where the faster reproducing phages produce fewer offspring from their commons [36].…”

Section: Choosing the "Best" Metabolic Pathwaymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this case, stable coexistence of the two strains was observed. MacLean and Gudelj [34] could explain the permanent survival of the cooperators by mathematical modelling: the combination of a seasonal environment provided by batch cultures, where metabolic intermediates can accumulate, with the toxic effects of the intermediates preferentially produced by the cheater strains, such as ethanol, is crucial. These toxic effects increase the costs of cheating with increasing frequency of cheaters producing the toxic intermediates so that the fitness of cheaters drops below the fitness of cooperators at sufficiently high frequency of cheaters.…”

Section: Choosing the "Best" Metabolic Pathwaymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of Game-Theoretical Methods in Biochemistry and Biophysics

et al. 2008

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Evolutionary game theory can be considered as an extension of the theory of evolutionary optimisation in that two or more organisms (or more generally, units of replication) tend to optimise their properties in an interdependent way. Thus, the outcome of the strategy adopted by one species (e.g., as a result of mutation and selection) depends on the strategy adopted by the other species. In this review, the use of evolutionary game theory for analysing biochemical and biophysical systems is discussed. The presentation is illustrated by a number of instructive examples such as the competition between microorganisms using different metabolic pathways for adenosine triphosphate production, the secretion of extracellular enzymes, the growth of trees and photosynthesis. These examples show that, due to conflicts of interest, the global optimum (in the sense of being the best solution for the whole system) is not always obtained. For example, some yeast species use metabolic pathways that waste nutrients, and in a dense tree canopy, trees grow taller than would be optimal for biomass productivity. From the viewpoint of game theory, the examples considered can be described by the Prisoner's Dilemma, snowdrift game, Tragedy of the Commons and rock-scissors-paper game.

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Resource competition and social conflict in experimental populations of yeast

Cited by 267 publications

References 18 publications

Metabolic specialization and the assembly of microbial communities

Metabolic specialization and the assembly of microbial communities

The physiology and ecological implications of efficient growth

Use of Game-Theoretical Methods in Biochemistry and Biophysics

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