The evolution of mechanisms to produce phenotypic heterogeneity in microorganisms.

ABSTRACT: In bacteria and other microorganisms, the cells within a population often show extreme phenotypic variation. Different species use different mechanisms to determine how distinct phenotypes are allocated between individuals, including coordinated, random, and genetic determination. However, it is not clear if this diversity in mechanisms is adaptive-arising because different mechanisms are favoured in different environments-or is merely the result of non-adaptive artifacts of evolution. We use theoretical models to analyse the relative advantages of the two dominant mechanisms to divide labour between reproductives and helpers in microorganisms. We show that coordinated specialisation is more likely to evolve over random specialisation in well-mixed groups when: (i) social groups are small;

SUBMITTER: Cooper GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8789899 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature