Range Expansion of Heterogeneous Populations

Abstract

Risk spreading in bacterial populations is generally regarded as a strategy to maximize survival. Here, we study its role during range expansion of a genetically diverse population where growth and motility are two alternative traits. We find that during the initial expansion phase fast growing cells do have a selective advantage. By contrast, asymptotically, generalists balancing motility and reproduction are evolutionarily most successful. These findings are rationalized by a set of coupled Fisher equations complemented by stochastic simulations.

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Master equations and the theory of stochastic path integrals
• Self-organization of swimmers drives long-range fluid transport in bacterial colonies
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• Non-universality of front fluctuations for compact colonies of non-motile bacteria
• Stochasticity enhances the gaining of bet-hedging strategies in contact-process-like dynamics
• Short-Range Migration Can Alter Evolutionary Dynamics in Solid Tumors
• Cooperation in Microbial Populations: Theory and Experimental Model Systems
• Geometrically Regulating Evolutionary Dynamics in Biofilms
• Collective Fluctuations in models of adaptation