Evolutionary shift of a tipping point can precipitate, or forestall, collapse in a microbial community.

Autor: Blake C; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia., Barber JN; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia., Connallon T; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia., McDonald MJ; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. mike.mcdonald@monash.edu.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature ecology & evolution [Nat Ecol Evol] 2024 Dec; Vol. 8 (12), pp. 2325-2335. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 18.
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02543-0
Abstrakt: Global ecosystems are rapidly approaching tipping points, where minute shifts can lead to drastic ecological changes. Theory predicts that evolution can shape a system's tipping point behaviour, but direct experimental support is lacking. Here we investigate the power of evolutionary processes to alter these critical thresholds and protect an ecological community from collapse. To do this, we propagate a two-species microbial system composed of Escherichia coli and baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for over 4,000 generations, and map ecological stability before and after coevolution. Our results reveal that tipping points-and other geometric properties of ecological communities-can evolve to alter the range of conditions under which our microbial community can flourish. We develop a mathematical model to illustrate how evolutionary changes in parameters such as growth rate, carrying capacity and resistance to environmental change affect ecological resilience. Our study shows that adaptation of key species can shift an ecological community's tipping point, potentially promoting ecological stability or accelerating collapse.
Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
(© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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