Evolutionary biologists typically envision a trait's genetic basis and fitness effects occurring
within a single species. However, traits can be determined by and have fitness …

Mutualistic interactions, where two interacting species have a net beneficial effect on each
other's fitness, play a crucial role in the survival and evolution of many species. Despite …

Despite the ubiquity and importance of mutualistic interactions, we know little about the
evolutionary genetics underlying their long-term persistence. As in antagonistic interactions …

Given the need to predict the outcomes of (co) evolution in host-associated microbiomes,
whether microbial and host fitnesses tend to trade-off, generating conflict, remains a …

Dense and diverse microbial communities are found in many environments. Disentangling
the social interactions between strains and species is central to understanding microbes and …

Many models of mutualisms show that mutualisms are unstable if hosts lack mechanisms
enabling preferential associations with mutualistic symbiotic partners over exploitative …

ABSTRACT A goal of modern biology is to develop the genotype-phenotype (G→ P) map, a
predictive understanding of how genomic information generates trait variation that forms the …

Through the secretion of “public goods” molecules, microbes cooperatively exploit their
habitat. This is known as a major driver of the functioning of microbial communities …

The evolution of complex organismal traits is obvious as a historical fact, but the underlying
causes—including the role of natural selection—are contested. Gould argued that a random …

Early evolution of mutualism is characterized by big and predictable adaptive changes,
including the specialization of interacting partners, such as through deleterious mutations in …