Why Evolve Reliance on the Microbiome for Timing of Ontogeny?

ABSTRACT The timing of life history events has important fitness consequences. Since the 1950s, researchers have combined first principles and data to predict the optimal timing of life history transitions. Recently, a striking mystery has emerged. Such transitions can be shaped by a completely diff...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: C. Jessica E. Metcalf, Lucas P. Henry, María Rebolleda-Gómez, Britt Koskella
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/1fdb59837c5f40a485170f9b7ec3c6ee
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:ABSTRACT The timing of life history events has important fitness consequences. Since the 1950s, researchers have combined first principles and data to predict the optimal timing of life history transitions. Recently, a striking mystery has emerged. Such transitions can be shaped by a completely different branch of the tree of life: species in the microbiome. Probing these interactions using testable predictions from evolutionary theory could illuminate whether and how host-microbiome integrated life histories can evolve and be maintained. Beyond advancing fundamental science, this research program could yield important applications. In an age of microbiome engineering, understanding the contexts that lead to microbiota signaling shaping ontogeny could offer novel mechanisms for manipulations to increase yield in agriculture by manipulating plant responses to stressful environments, or to reduce pathogen transmission by affecting vector efficiency. We combine theory and evidence to illuminate the essential questions underlying the existence of microbiome-dependent ontogenetic timing (MiDOT) to fuel research on this emerging topic.