Authors
Melanie JI Müller, Beverly I Neugeboren, David R Nelson, Andrew W Murray
Publication date
2014/1/21
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume
111
Issue
3
Pages
1037-1042
Publisher
National Acad Sciences
Description
Mutualistic interactions benefit both partners, promoting coexistence and genetic diversity. Spatial structure can promote cooperation, but spatial expansions may also make it hard for mutualistic partners to stay together, because genetic drift at the expansion front creates regions of low genetic and species diversity. To explore the antagonism between mutualism and genetic drift, we grew cross-feeding strains of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae on agar surfaces as a model for mutualists undergoing spatial expansions. By supplying varying amounts of the exchanged nutrients, we tuned strength and symmetry of the mutualistic interaction. Strong mutualism suppresses genetic demixing during spatial expansions and thereby maintains diversity, but weak or asymmetric mutualism is overwhelmed by genetic drift even when mutualism is still beneficial, slowing growth and reducing diversity. Theoretical …
Total citations
20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024916271325292014291811
Scholar articles
MJI Müller, BI Neugeboren, DR Nelson, AW Murray - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014