Using artificial systems to explore the ecology and evolution of symbioses
- 23 March 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
- Vol. 68 (8), 1353-1368
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-011-0649-y
Abstract
The web of life is weaved from diverse symbiotic interactions between species. Symbioses vary from antagonistic interactions such as competition and predation to beneficial interactions such as mutualism. What are the bases for the origin and persistence of symbiosis? What affects the ecology and evolution of symbioses? How do symbiotic interactions generate ecological patterns? How do symbiotic partners evolve and coevolve? Many of these questions are difficult to address in natural systems. Artificial systems, from abstract to living, have been constructed to capture essential features of natural symbioses and to address these key questions. With reduced complexity and increased controllability, artificial systems can serve as useful models for natural systems. We review how artificial systems have contributed to our understanding of symbioses.Keywords
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