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Syntrophy emerges spontaneously in complex metabolic systems.

  • Libby E Integrated Science Lab, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
  • Hébert-Dufresne L Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America.
  • Hosseini SR Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Wagner A Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America.
  • 2019-07-25
Published in:
  • PLoS computational biology. - 2019
Adaptation, Physiological
Algorithms
Carbon
Computational Biology
Escherichia coli
Markov Chains
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Microbiota
Models, Biological
Monte Carlo Method
Mutation
Symbiosis
English Syntrophy allows a microbial community as a whole to survive in an environment, even though individual microbes cannot. The metabolic interdependence typical of syntrophy is thought to arise from the accumulation of degenerative mutations during the sustained co-evolution of initially self-sufficient organisms. An alternative and underexplored possibility is that syntrophy can emerge spontaneously in communities of organisms that did not co-evolve. Here, we study this de novo origin of syntrophy using experimentally validated computational techniques to predict an organism's viability from its metabolic reactions. We show that pairs of metabolisms that are randomly sampled from a large space of possible metabolism and viable on specific primary carbon sources often become viable on new carbon sources by exchanging metabolites. The same biochemical reactions that are required for viability on primary carbon sources also confer viability on novel carbon sources. Our observations highlight a new and important avenue for the emergence of metabolic adaptations and novel ecological interactions.
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  • English
Open access status
gold
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/297451
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