Abstract
ABSTRACTEvolutionary theory suggests that the conditions required for the establishment of mutualistic symbioses through mutualism alone are highly restrictive, often requiring the evolution of complex stabilising mechanisms. Exploitation, whereby initially the host benefits at the expense of its symbiotic partner and mutual benefits evolve subsequently through trade-offs, offers an arguably simpler route to the establishment of mutualistic symbiosis. In this review, we discuss the theoretical and experimental evidence supporting a role for host exploitation in the establishment and evolution of mutualistic microbial symbioses, including data from both extant and experimentally evolved symbioses. We conclude that exploitation rather than mutualism may often explain the origin of mutualistic microbial symbioses.
Highlights
Symbiosis – ‘the living together of unlike organisms’(De Bary 1879) – encompasses a broad range of species interactions, including both parasitism (+/– itness interactions) and mutualism (+/+ itness interactions)
We conclude that exploitation rather than mutualism may often explain the origin of mutualistic microbial symbioses
Experiments manipulating key environmental parameters likely to affect symbiosis, such as the potential for horizontal transmission or the free-living mortality rate, will be an important step towards understanding the environmental drivers of the establishment of symbiosis. Both the theoretical and empirical evidence support the role for parasitism or exploitation in the establishment of symbioses, and the later evolution of mutual beneit
Summary
Symbiosis – ‘the living together of unlike organisms’(De Bary 1879) – encompasses a broad range of species interactions, including both parasitism (+/– itness interactions) and mutualism (+/+ itness interactions). Evolutionary theory suggests that the conditions required for the establishment of mutualistic symbioses through mutualism alone are highly restrictive, often requiring the evolution of complex stabilising mechanisms. Exploitation, whereby initially the host beneits at the expense of its symbiotic partner and mutual beneits evolve subsequently through trade-offs, offers an arguably simpler route to the establishment of mutualistic symbiosis.
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