Is Bacterial Persistence a Social Trait?
1 St John's College, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom, 2 Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
The ability of bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotics has been much reported in recent years. It is less well-known that within populations of bacteria there are cells which are resistant due to a non-inherited phenotypic switch to a slow-growing state. Although such ‘persister’ cells are receiving increasing attention, the evolutionary forces involved have been relatively ignored. Persistence has a direct benefit to cells because it allows survival during catastrophes–a form of bet-hedging. However, persistence can also provide an indirect benefit to other individuals, because the reduced growth rate can reduce competition for limiting resources. This raises the possibility that persistence is a social trait, which can be influenced by kin selection. We develop a theoretical model to investigate the social consequences of persistence. We predict that selection for persistence is increased when: (a) cells are related (e.g. a single, clonal lineage); and (b) resources are scarce. Our model allows us to predict how the level of persistence should vary with time, across populations, in response to intervention strategies and the level of competition. More generally, our results clarify the links between persistence and other bet-hedging or social behaviours.
Esto lleva a un blog a postular un posible parecido con las celulas stem, lo cual es muy interesante para el caso del cancer. Seria posible que las celulas stem cancerosas puedan tener este comportamiento? Es decir comportarse como stem por razones fenotipicas y no genotipicas y cambiar de un estado a otro. Esto explicaria el articulo de k. polyak que difiere de la mayoria y podria dar una teoria que cubriera todo.
Que se les ocurre hacer para comprobar esta hipotesis? Me gustaria que todos intentaran contestar (en comentarios). Es mas, lo hacemos obligatorio como un ejercicio. No se preocupen de poner algo que consideren tonto, solo asi se aprende.
