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The trade‐off between rate and yield in the design of microbial metabolism
Author(s) -
FRANK S. A.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.01930.x
Subject(s) - biology , competition (biology) , yield (engineering) , resource acquisition is initialization , selection (genetic algorithm) , resource (disambiguation) , metabolic rate , ecology , flux balance analysis , population , resource allocation , demography , economics , bioinformatics , computer science , metallurgy , market economy , computer network , materials science , artificial intelligence , sociology , endocrinology
Extra energy devoted to resource acquisition speeds metabolic rate, but reduces the net yield of energy. In direct competition, microbial strains with high rates of resource acquisition often outcompete strains with slower resource acquisition but higher yield, reducing the net output of the group. Here, I use mathematical models to analyse the genetic and demographic factors that tip the balance toward either rate or yield. My models clarify the widely discussed roles of kin selection and the spatial structure of populations. I also emphasize the strong effect of two previously ignored factors: demographic aspects of colony survival and reproduction strongly shape the design of metabolic rate and efficiency, and competitive mutants within long‐lived colonies favour rate over yield, degrading the efficiency of the population.