1. Rapid radiation in bacteria leads to a division of labour.
- Author
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Kim W, Levy SB, and Foster KR
- Subjects
- Bacteria, Bacterial Proteins genetics, Cyclic GMP analogs & derivatives, Cyclic GMP biosynthesis, Frameshift Mutation, Pseudomonas fluorescens genetics, Biological Evolution, Microbial Interactions physiology, Pseudomonas fluorescens physiology
- Abstract
The division of labour is a central feature of the most sophisticated biological systems, including genomes, multicellular organisms and societies, which took millions of years to evolve. Here we show that a well-organized and robust division of labour can evolve in a matter of days. Mutants emerge within bacterial colonies and work with the parent strain to gain new territory. The two strains self-organize in space: one provides a wetting polymer at the colony edge, whereas the other sits behind and pushes them both along. The emergence of the interaction is repeatable, bidirectional and only requires a single mutation to alter production of the intracellular messenger, cyclic-di-GMP. Our work demonstrates the power of the division of labour to rapidly solve biological problems without the need for long-term evolution or derived sociality. We predict that the division of labour will evolve frequently in microbial populations, where rapid genetic diversification is common.
- Published
- 2016
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