Specialization and Trade-Offs in The Evolution of Resistance to Cheating in The Social Amoeba

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dc.contributor.committeeMemberAzevedo, Ricardo B. R.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberOstrowski, Elizabeth
dc.contributor.committeeMemberCole, Blaine J.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberVelicer, Gregory J.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberZufall, Rebecca A.
dc.creatorMiller, Michael Ethan 1983-
dc.creator.orcid0000-0002-1723-7958
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-17T00:24:39Z
dc.date.createdDecember 2019
dc.date.issued2019-12
dc.date.submittedDecember 2019
dc.date.updated2019-12-17T00:24:41Z
dc.description.abstractA central enigma of social evolution is the emergence and maintenance of cooperation and altruism in the face of selfish, free-loading individuals (i.e., cheaters), which take advantage of cooperators. One mechanism to counter cheating is the evolution of resistors. Both cheating and resistance appear to be persistent and prevalent in nature. However, whether resistance evolves to specifically outcompete local cheats, and whether it comes at the cost of reduced fitness in alternate environments is largely unknown. Here, I describe several experiments to: (i) test the cost of adaptation in replicate populations of social amoebae evolved in the presence of different cheaters, (ii) describe the function, transcriptomics, and population genomics of mutations identified in my evolved populations, and (iii) describe the population structure of the social amoeba at varying scales. Population structure analyses suggest significant differentiation in this species at spatial scales as small as one meter. Resistance readily evolved within each selection environment and strains performed better within their respective environments, revealing the capacity for cheating resistance with a variety of cheater in D. discoideum. I identified several genes mutated in the evolved strains that potentially influence resistance to cheating, and interestingly, that balancing selection might affect several of these genes. Trade-offs, thought to limit adaptation and drive specialization, were observed between selection groups. Thus, rapid adaptation in response to specific cheaters might prevent fixation of one cheater type in natural populations and might facilitate local adaptation of cheaters and resistors.
dc.description.departmentBiology and Biochemistry, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/5517
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectEvolution
dc.subjectExperimental evolution
dc.subjectCheating
dc.subjectAmoeba
dc.subjectDictyostelium
dc.subjectPopulation Structure
dc.subjectPopulation genetics
dc.subjectWhole Genome Sequencing
dc.titleSpecialization and Trade-Offs in The Evolution of Resistance to Cheating in The Social Amoeba
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
local.embargo.lift2021-12-01
local.embargo.terms2021-12-01
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
thesis.degree.departmentBiology and Biochemistry, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplineBiology
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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