Cooperation and Competition in the Evolution of ATP-Producing Pathways
Thomas Pfeiffer,1*
Stefan Schuster,2
Sebastian Bonhoeffer1*
Heterotrophic organisms generally face a trade-off
between rate and yield of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. This trade-off may result in an evolutionary dilemma, because cells with a
higher rate but lower yield of ATP production may gain a selective
advantage when competing for shared energy resources. Using an analysis
of model simulations and biochemical observations, we show that ATP
production with a low rate and high yield can be viewed as a form of
cooperative resource use and may evolve in spatially structured
environments. Furthermore, we argue that the high ATP yield of
respiration may have facilitated the evolutionary transition from
unicellular to undifferentiated multicellular organisms.
1 Friedrich Miescher Institute, Post Office Box
2543, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland.
2 Max
Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, D-13092 Berlin, Germany.
*
Present address: Experimental Ecology and Theoretical Biology,
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
bonhoeffer{at}eco.umnw.ethz.ch
