Pleiotropy and the low cost of individual traits promote cooperation.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_B772588E9E8C
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Pleiotropy and the low cost of individual traits promote cooperation.
Journal
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution
Author(s)
Mitri S., Foster K.R.
ISSN
1558-5646 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
0014-3820
Publication state
Published
Issued date
02/2016
Volume
70
Number
2
Pages
488-494
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
The evolution of cooperation is thought to be promoted by pleiotropy, whereby cooperative traits are coregulated with traits that are important for personal fitness. However, this hypothesis faces a key challenge: what happens if mutation targets a cooperative trait specifically rather than the pleiotropic regulator? Here, we explore this question with the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which cooperatively digests complex proteins using elastase. We empirically measure and theoretically model the fate of two mutants--one missing the whole regulatory circuit behind elastase production and the other with only the elastase gene mutated--relative to the wild-type (WT). We first show that, when elastase is needed, neither of the mutants can grow if the WT is absent. And, consistent with previous findings, we show that regulatory gene mutants can grow faster than the WT when there are no pleiotropic costs. However, we find that mutants only lacking elastase production do not outcompete the WT, because the individual cooperative trait has a low cost. We argue that the intrinsic architecture of molecular networks makes pleiotropy an effective way to stabilize cooperative evolution. Although individual cooperative traits experience loss-of-function mutations, these mutations may result in weak benefits, and need not undermine the protection from pleiotropy.

Keywords
Bacterial Proteins/genetics, Bacterial Proteins/metabolism, Evolution, Molecular, Genes, Regulator, Genetic Pleiotropy, Mutation, Pancreatic Elastase/genetics, Pancreatic Elastase/metabolism, Pseudomonas aeruginosa/enzymology, Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics
Pubmed
Create date
23/06/2016 11:57
Last modification date
20/08/2019 15:25
Usage data