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Abstract
Natural selection should favour generalist predators that outperform specialists across all prey types. Two genetic solutions could explain why intraspecific variation in predatory performance is, nonetheless, widespread: mutations beneficial on one prey type are costly on another (antagonistic pleiotropy), or mutational effects are prey-specific, which weakens selection, allowing variation to persist (relaxed selection). To understand the relative importance of these alternatives, we characterised natural variation in predatory performance in the microbial predator Dictyostelium discoideum. We found widespread nontransitive differences among strains in predatory success across different bacterial prey, which can facilitate stain coexistence in multi-prey environments. To understand the genetic basis, we developed methods for high throughput experimental evolution on different prey (REMI-seq). Most mutations (~77%) had prey-specific effects, with very few (~4%) showing antagonistic pleiotropy. This highlights the potential for prey-specific effects to dilute selection, which would inhibit the purging of variation and prevent the emergence of an optimal generalist predator.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 319 |
Journal | Nature Communications |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 14 Jan 2022 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2022 |
Bibliographical note
This work was funded by grants from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (BB/M01035X/1; BB/M007146/1) to J.B.W. and C.R.L.T., the Natural Environment Research Council (NE/H020322/1) to J.B.W., D.E.R, and C.R.L.T., NERC (NE/V012002/1) to C.R.L.T. and J.B.W, a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award (WT095643AIA), a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Resource Grant (101582/Z/13/Z), and a Wellcome Trust Institutional Support Grant (204841/Z/16/Z) to C.R.L.T. We thank David Murrell, Duncan Greig, Max Reuter and Andrew Pomiankowski for discussions during the development of this work and comments and suggestions on previous versions of the manuscript.ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Chemistry
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Physics and Astronomy
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Dive into the research topics of 'The genetic architecture underlying prey-dependent performance in a microbial predator'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
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A Genomic Perspective on Social Selection, Natural Selection and Random Genetic Drift
Wolf, J. (PI) & Hurst, L. (CoI)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
1/09/15 → 31/12/18
Project: Research council