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Digital PCR-based Competitive Index for High-throughput Analysis of Fitness in Salmonella
Published on: May 13, 2019
Competition both drives and impedes diversification in a model adaptive radiation
Susan F Bailey1, Jeremy R Dettman, Paul B Rainey
1Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie Curie Private, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. susan.bailey@uottawa.ca
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 12, 2013
Summary
Competition
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Microbial Ecology
Background:
- Competition influences evolutionary diversification during adaptive radiations.
- Mechanisms of competitive effects on diversification are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how competition strength and competitor diversity ability affect focal lineage diversification.
- To elucidate the role of resource competition in adaptive radiation outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Experimental evolution using the model organism Pseudomonas fluorescens.
- Manipulation of competitor presence and competitive strength.
Main Results:
- Diversification in the absence of competitors is driven by resource competition intensity.
- Competitors can increase diversity by intensifying interspecific resource competition.
- Competitors capable of diversification limit focal lineage diversification by consuming ecological opportunities.
Conclusions:
- Adaptive radiation progress is fundamentally linked to resource competition strength.
- Competitors can either amplify or hinder adaptive radiation depending on their traits and competitive interactions.
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