Models of microbiome evolution incorporating host and microbial selection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Numerous empirical studies suggest that hosts and microbes exert reciprocal selective effects on their ecological partners. Nonetheless, we still lack an explicit framework to model the dynamics of both hosts and microbes under selection. In a previous study, we developed an agent-based forward-time computational framework to simulate the neutral evolution of host-associated microbial communities in a constant-sized, unstructured population of hosts. These neutral models allowed offspring to sample microbes randomly from parents and/or from the environment. Additionally, the environmental pool of available microbes was constituted by fixed and persistent microbial OTUs and by contributions from host individuals in the preceding generation.

Methods

In this paper, w

SUBMITTER: Zeng Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5613328 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature