Biologists investigate what happens when traits jump between branches of the tree of life

We all have to play the game of life with the cards we are dealt. In biology, organisms must compete with each other through natural selection.

The saying is a lie.

It is not a lie, but modern research shows that the game of life is far more complicated than we had thought. There are opportunities to swap cards.

The ability to acquire metabolic pathways is being investigated by researchers at UC Santa Barbara. The scientists found that adopting another metabolism can have major competitive consequences. The results can be found in the journal.

The term metabolism means all the chemical reactions that take place in an organisms in order to maintain life. The nuts and bolts of processes like respiration, digestion, movement, and so on are included in an acquired metabolism.

Nature has examples of acquired metabolisms. Some are familiar, like the microbes in a cow's gut. Others are less well-known. Consider the symbiotic fungi that help plants get minerals from the soil. There are metabolisms like sea slugs that steal chloroplasts from their food so they can photosynthesize.

Previous research mostly considered the interactions with environmental factors when looking at acquired metabolisms. The UC Santa Barbara group investigated their role in growth and community dynamics, focusing on acquired phototrophy.

The authors considered two single-celled organisms. The first species in the group is the Colpidium. The secondParamecium bursaria had acquired the ability to photosynthesize at some point in the past.

The two microbes were analyzed under different light conditions.

The scientists put the microbes against each other. They saw a competitive advantage across different light levels. In the dark, Colpidium was outcompeted. Under bright conditions,bursaria was dominated.

Holly Moeller, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, said that it gets to the idea that you can't be good at everything. Adapting to an acquired metabolism might have hurtbursaria's hunting prowess. The boost from photosynthesis more than makes up for this handicap at high light levels.

Remarkably, the two microbes were able to coexist under intermediate light conditions.

The results show that community dynamics can be greatly affected by acquired metabolism.

The researchers used the Lotka-Volterra model to describe what they had seen. The model is very easy to use and can capture all the possible outcomes of competition. It was developed over 100 years ago and has become a go-to standard for biology classes.

This stalwart system couldn't capture the subtle changes introduced by P.bursaria's acquired phototrophy and the feedback cycle it created. The team had to come up with a system of equations that accounted for the nuances.

It is important to study how acquired metabolisms influence evolution and ecology because they are a fundamental part of life on Earth. We generally think of plants as having a characteristic of photosynthesis.

Mitochondria are also acquired frombacteria. Both of the organelles have their own genes, not the same as a cell's nuclear genome.

This is how the eukaryotes have been playing the game for 2 billion years. Our simpler brethren, prokaryotes, may engage in more biological card- swapping. Many are able to share their genes with each other.

The implications of acquired metabolisms will continue to be studied. They are curious about the transition from obtaining food outside to producing it oneself.

These transitions will be investigated using mathematic models and real-world case studies. The team will be able to control more variables in future experiments because they will involve microbes that are more closely related to each other.

More research is good. Because, in this convoluted corner of biology, at least one thing has become clear: We would have a less dynamic, less complex ecology on this planet if organisms could only play with the cards they were dealt.

More information: Veronica Hsu et al, Niche expansion via acquired metabolism facilitates competitive dominance in planktonic communities, Ecology (2022). DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3693 Citation: Biologists investigate what happens when traits jump between branches of the tree of life (2022, May 3) retrieved 3 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-biologists-traits-tree-life.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.