title: Metastable coexistence of multiple genotypes in a constant environment with a single resource through fixed settings of a multiplication-survival trade-off.
abstract: The biological complexity of trade-offs has been a major obstacle in understanding bacterial diversity and coexistence. Here we reduce the biological complexity by using isogenic Escherichia coli strains differing only in a multiplication-survival trade-off regulated by RpoS. The contribution of trade-off characteristics to fitness in different environments was determined. We then designed an environment with intermediate-stress levels that elicits an equivalent fitness. We found metastable coexistence of three strains in steady-state chemostats until mutations changed the relative fitness of competing strains. Our results help explain the rich intra- and inter-species diversity of bacteria through alternative settings of relatively few trade-offs.
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address: ram.maharjan@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Ram
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maharjan
authors.affiliation: School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferenci
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D005838:Genotype; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; C069567:sigma factor KatF protein, Bacteria
keywords: Escherichia coli; Reaction norm; Resource allocation; RpoS sigma factor; Stress resistance; Trade-offs