The evolution of autonomy from two cooperative specialists in fluctuating environments

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chen, Xiaoli; Wang, Miaoxiao; Luo, Laipeng; Liu, Xiaonan; An, Liyun; Nie, Yong; Wu, Xiao-Lei
• 署名单位: Peking University; Peking University; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; ETH Zurich; Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain; Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (EAWAG); Sichuan University; Peking University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-13018
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317182121
• 发表日期: 2024-08-27
• 关键词: horizontal-gene-transfer; division-of-labor; complete nitrification; microbial consortium; escherichia-coli; coexistence; promote; cells

摘要

From microbes to humans, organisms perform numerous tasks for their survival, including food acquisition, migration, and reproduction. A complex biological task can be performed by either an autonomous organism or by cooperation among several specialized organisms. However, it remains unclear how autonomy and cooperation evolutionarily switch. Specifically, it remains unclear whether and how cooperative specialists can repair deleted genes through direct genetic exchange, thereby regaining metabolic autonomy. Here, we address this question by experimentally evolving a mutualistic microbial consortium composed of two specialists that cooperatively degrade naphthalene. We observed that autonomous genotypes capable of performing the entire naphthalene degradation pathway evolved from two cooperative specialists and dominated the community. This evolutionary transition was driven by the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between the two specialists. However, this evolution was exclusively observed in the fluctuating environment alternately supplied with naphthalene and pyruvate, where mutualism and competition between the two specialists alternated. The naphthalene- supplied environment exerted selective pressure that favors the expansion of autonomous genotypes. The pyruvate- supplied environment promoted the coexistence and cell density of the cooperative specialists, thereby increasing the likelihood of rate and carrying capacity of the cooperative specialists allow enhanced coexistence and