Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution
Microorganisms produce costly cooperative goods whose benefit is partially shared with nonproducers, called ‘mixed’ goods. The Black Queen Hypothesis predicts that partial privatization has two major evolutionary implications. First, to favor strains producing several types of mixed goods over nonpr...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9710793/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1811185336440586240 |
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| author | Lucas Santana Souza Yasuhiko Irie Shigetoshi Eda |
| author_facet | Lucas Santana Souza Yasuhiko Irie Shigetoshi Eda |
| author_sort | Lucas Santana Souza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microorganisms produce costly cooperative goods whose benefit is partially shared with nonproducers, called ‘mixed’ goods. The Black Queen Hypothesis predicts that partial privatization has two major evolutionary implications. First, to favor strains producing several types of mixed goods over nonproducing strains. Second, to favor the maintenance of cooperative traits through different strains instead of having all cooperative traits present in a single strain (metabolic specialization). Despite the importance of quorum sensing regulation of mixed goods, it is unclear how partial privatization affects quorum sensing evolution. Here, we studied the influence of partial privatization on the evolution of quorum sensing. We developed a mathematical population genetics model of an unstructured microbial population considering four strains that differ in their ability to produce an autoinducer (quorum sensing signaling molecule) and a mixed good. Our model assumes that the production of the autoinducers and the mixed goods is constitutive and/or depends on quorum sensing. Our results suggest that, unless autoinducers are costless, partial privatization cannot favor quorum sensing. This result occurs because with costly autoinducers: (1) a strain that produces both autoinducer and goods (fully producing strain) cannot persist in the population; (2) the strain only producing the autoinducer and the strain producing mixed goods in response to the autoinducers cannot coexist, i.e., metabolic specialization cannot be favored. Together, partial privatization might have been crucial to favor a primordial form of quorum sensing—where autoinducers were thought to be a metabolic byproduct (costless)—but not the transition to nowadays costly autoinducers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:27:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63f3c617346a44ea8f5f6b92cc3045d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:27:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-63f3c617346a44ea8f5f6b92cc3045d62022-12-22T04:21:58ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011711Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolutionLucas Santana SouzaYasuhiko IrieShigetoshi EdaMicroorganisms produce costly cooperative goods whose benefit is partially shared with nonproducers, called ‘mixed’ goods. The Black Queen Hypothesis predicts that partial privatization has two major evolutionary implications. First, to favor strains producing several types of mixed goods over nonproducing strains. Second, to favor the maintenance of cooperative traits through different strains instead of having all cooperative traits present in a single strain (metabolic specialization). Despite the importance of quorum sensing regulation of mixed goods, it is unclear how partial privatization affects quorum sensing evolution. Here, we studied the influence of partial privatization on the evolution of quorum sensing. We developed a mathematical population genetics model of an unstructured microbial population considering four strains that differ in their ability to produce an autoinducer (quorum sensing signaling molecule) and a mixed good. Our model assumes that the production of the autoinducers and the mixed goods is constitutive and/or depends on quorum sensing. Our results suggest that, unless autoinducers are costless, partial privatization cannot favor quorum sensing. This result occurs because with costly autoinducers: (1) a strain that produces both autoinducer and goods (fully producing strain) cannot persist in the population; (2) the strain only producing the autoinducer and the strain producing mixed goods in response to the autoinducers cannot coexist, i.e., metabolic specialization cannot be favored. Together, partial privatization might have been crucial to favor a primordial form of quorum sensing—where autoinducers were thought to be a metabolic byproduct (costless)—but not the transition to nowadays costly autoinducers.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9710793/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Lucas Santana Souza Yasuhiko Irie Shigetoshi Eda Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution PLoS ONE |
| title | Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution |
| title_full | Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution |
| title_fullStr | Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution |
| title_short | Black Queen Hypothesis, partial privatization, and quorum sensing evolution |
| title_sort | black queen hypothesis partial privatization and quorum sensing evolution |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9710793/?tool=EBI |
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