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Related Concept Videos

Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift01:09

Mutation, Gene Flow, and Genetic Drift

In a population that is not at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the frequency of alleles changes over time. Therefore, any deviations from the five conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium can alter the genetic variation of a given population. Conditions that change the genetic variability of a population include mutations, natural selection, non-random mating, gene flow, and genetic drift (small population size).
Conservation of Small Populations02:04

Conservation of Small Populations

Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
Genetic Drift03:33

Genetic Drift

Natural selection—probably the most well-known evolutionary mechanism—increases the prevalence of traits that enhance survival and reproduction. However, evolution does not merely propagate favorable traits, nor does it always benefit populations.
Speciation Rates01:07

Speciation Rates

Overview

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling
20:36

Predicting the Effectiveness of Population Replacement Strategy Using Mathematical Modeling

Published on: July 4, 2007

Switching between phenotypes and population extinction.

Ingo Lohmar1, Baruch Meerson

  • 1Racah Institute of Physics, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. lohmar@phys.huji.ac.il

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|December 21, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Bacteria can switch between fast-growing "normal" and slow-growing "persister" states to survive stress. This study quantizes bacterial population extinction risk, finding rare switching between states is most beneficial for survival.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Theoretical Biology
  • Mathematical Biology

Background:

  • Bacteria exhibit phenotypic heterogeneity, with
  • normals
  • and
  • persisters
  • exhibiting distinct growth and stress-resilience characteristics.
  • Previous theoretical models primarily focused on population fitness (growth rate), neglecting extinction risk in finite populations.
  • Extinction risk in bacterial populations is influenced by environmental variations and intrinsic demographic noise (birth, death, switching).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify bacterial population extinction risk using a theoretical framework.
  • To identify the most probable pathways leading to population extinction under varying conditions.
  • To evaluate the impact of switching rates between phenotypic states on survival.

Main Methods:

  • Application of a Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation to the master equation governing a two-phenotype bacterial population model.
  • Analytical derivation of extinction risk in both rare and frequent switching regimes.
  • Identification of the most likely extinction trajectories.

Main Results:

  • The study quantifies bacterial population extinction risk, a more relevant metric than fitness for isolated populations.
  • Analytical solutions were derived for both rare and frequent switching scenarios.
  • Rare switching between
  • normal
  • and
  • persister
  • phenotypes was found to be most effective in minimizing extinction risk.

Conclusions:

  • Phenotypic switching in bacteria significantly impacts population viability.
  • Rare switching offers a robust strategy for mitigating extinction risk, particularly under stressful conditions.
  • The findings provide theoretical insights into bacterial survival strategies relevant to microbial ecology and evolution.