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Updated: Jan 6, 2026
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Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
Published on: October 29, 2016
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Cooperation mitigates diversity loss in a spatially expanding microbial population
Saurabh R Gandhi1, Kirill S Korolev2,3, Jeff Gore4
1Physics of Living Systems Group, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
Summary
Population expansion
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Microbial Ecology
Background:
- Spatially expanding populations risk losing genetic diversity through serial founder effects.
- Founder effect strength is influenced by population growth dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate how cooperative growth affects genetic diversity during population expansion.
- To compare diversity loss in noncooperative versus cooperative yeast growth environments.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) in controlled environments.
- Manipulated growth conditions to induce varying levels of cooperativity.
- Monitored genetic diversity changes during spatial expansion.
Main Results:
- Noncooperative growth on simple sugars led to drastic diversity reduction.
- Cooperative growth on complex metabolites preserved genetic diversity.
- Observed rapid genetic drift events distinct from selective sweeps.
Conclusions:
- Cooperative growth dynamics significantly mitigate genetic diversity loss in expanding populations.
- Pushed waves, driven by cooperation, maintain diversity better than pulled waves.
- Understanding growth dynamics is crucial for predicting evolutionary trajectories.
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