Natural selection for imprecise vertical transmission in host-microbiota systems.

ABSTRACT: How and when the microbiome modulates host adaptation remains an evolutionary puzzle, despite evidence that the extended genetic repertoire of the microbiome can shape host phenotypes and fitness. One complicating factor is that the microbiome is often transmitted imperfectly across host generations, leading to questions about the degree to which the microbiome contributes to host adaptation. Here, using an evolutionary model, we demonstrate that decreasing vertical transmission fidelity can increase microbiome variation, and thus phenotypic variation, across hosts. When the most beneficial microbial genotypes change unpredictably from one generation to the next (for example, in variable environments), hosts can maximize fitness by increasing the microbiome variation among offspring, as th

SUBMITTER: Bruijning M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9901532 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature