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Artificial selection of simulated microbial ecosystems.

Hywel T P Williams1, Timothy M Lenton

  • 1School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom. h.williams@uea.ac.uk

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|May 23, 2007
PubMed
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This study used simulations to show that microbial ecosystems adapt to artificial selection not just through individual species but also through interactions between species. This highlights the importance of ecological interactions in ecosystem-level adaptation.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Microbial Ecology

Background:

  • Artificial selection experiments with microbial communities show adaptive ecosystem-level responses.
  • The precise level at which selection occurs (individual species vs. ecosystem traits) remains unclear.
  • Distinguishing between implicit lower-level selection and genuine higher-level selection is crucial for understanding ecosystem adaptation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms driving ecosystem-level adaptive responses to artificial selection.
  • To determine whether selection acts on individual species traits or on emergent ecosystem properties.
  • To differentiate between additive responses of individual species and those arising from inter-species interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized an individual-based evolutionary simulation model of microbial ecology.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Performed artificial ecosystem selection experiments within the simulation environment.
  • Analyzed ecosystem responses to assess the contribution of individual species versus community interactions.

    • Main Results:

    • The simulation model replicated adaptive responses observed in real microbial ecosystems.
    • A substantial portion of ecosystem adaptation could not be explained by selection on single species alone.
    • Interactions among different microbial types significantly contributed to adaptive responses in most cases.
    • In scenarios where a single dominant species could easily solve the selection challenge, it often did.

    Conclusions:

    • Ecosystem-level adaptation in microbial communities frequently results from ecological interactions among species, not just individual species adaptation.
    • Selection can operate at higher levels than individual organisms, driven by community dynamics.
    • While individual species adaptation plays a role, inter-species interactions are critical for understanding complex ecosystem responses to selection.