Larger bacterial populations evolve heavier fitness trade-offs and undergo greater ecological specialization.

ABSTRACT: Evolutionary studies over the last several decades have invoked fitness trade-offs to explain why species prefer some environments to others. However, the effects of population size on trade-offs and ecological specialization remain largely unknown. To complicate matters, trade-offs themselves have been visualized in multiple ways in the literature. Thus, it is not clear how population size can affect the various aspects of trade-offs. To address these issues, we conducted experimental evolution with Escherichia coli populations of two different sizes in two nutritionally limited environments, and studied fitness trade-offs from three different perspectives. We found that larger populations evolved greater fitness trade-offs, regardless of how trade-offs are conceptualized. Moreover, altho

SUBMITTER: Chavhan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7239931 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature