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Slow expanders invade by forming dented fronts in microbial colonies.

Hyunseok Lee1, Jeff Gore1, Kirill S Korolev2

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Slower growing mutants can outcompete faster ones in spatial expansion, even when segregated. This occurs due to local competition at sector boundaries, altering population dynamics and leading to novel evolutionary outcomes.

Keywords:
biofilmgrowth–dispersal tradeoffreaction–diffusionsector shapespatial competition

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Ecology
  • Population dynamics

Background:

  • Organisms expand spatially, with evolution typically favoring faster growth rates.
  • Previous models overlooked local competition, assuming faster expansion always wins.
  • The possibility of slower-growing populations dominating was largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally observe and theoretically explain how slower-growing mutants can dominate spatial expansions.
  • To investigate the role of local competition at sector boundaries in population dynamics.
  • To develop a universal framework for understanding spatial competition.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental observation of competing populations with differing growth rates.
  • Development of a theoretical model incorporating both global and local competition.
  • Computational simulations to explore mechanisms of local competitive advantage.

Main Results:

  • Slower-growing mutants were observed to win in competition, both intermixed and spatially segregated.
  • Local competition at sector boundaries significantly alters expansion dynamics.
  • A theory predicting dented V-shaped sectors for slower, more competitive mutants was developed and experimentally validated.

Conclusions:

  • Spatial competition outcomes can defy expectations based solely on expansion velocity.
  • Local competitive interactions are crucial for understanding evolutionary and ecological dynamics in expanding populations.
  • The study establishes a comprehensive framework for analyzing spatial population dynamics.