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Asymmetric mutualism in two- and three-dimensional range expansions.
Maxim O Lavrentovich1, David R Nelson1
1Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|April 22, 2014
Summary
Genetic drift in expanding microbial populations can prevent cooperation. Three-dimensional expansion, unlike two-dimensional, promotes mutualism across a wider range of conditions, even with asymmetric interactions.
Area of Science:
- Microbial ecology
- Population genetics
- Evolutionary dynamics
Background:
- Genetic drift can disrupt cooperation in expanding microbial populations, leading to sectoring.
- Interactions between microbial variants are often asymmetric.
- Dimensionality influences population structure and evolutionary outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how dimensionality affects cooperation in expanding microbial populations.
- To determine the role of interaction asymmetry and strength in promoting or hindering mutualism.
- To analyze the impact of dimensionality on population genetics at the expansion frontier.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical modeling of range expansions.
- Analysis of genetic drift and selection dynamics.
- Phase diagrams to delineate cooperative and demixed regions.
Main Results:
- Three-dimensional expansions allow for a broader mutualistic phase compared to two-dimensional expansions, especially with asymmetric interactions.
- Mutualism is favored in 3D for any positive, symmetric cooperative benefit.
- Undulating fronts in 3D roughen dramatically at the boundaries of the mutualistic phase, impacting population genetics.
Conclusions:
- Dimensionality is a critical factor in the evolution of cooperation in expanding microbial populations.
- Asymmetric interactions can be overcome by mutualism in 3D expansions.
- Front roughening at the edge of the mutualistic phase has significant implications for evolutionary trajectories.
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