Rémi Tuffet

doi.orgEcological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamicsBacterial genomes are remarkably dynamic, shaped by horizontal transfer of plasmids that follow evolutionary trajectories of their own. This study uses eco-evolutionary perspectives to reveal how the ...

Our new paper is out in @PLOS Biology! 🎉 “Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics” 🔗 doi.org/10.1371/jour... More on the main findings in the next posts 👇

1 Sept

My latest article exploring the evolutionary ecology of plasmids was published in @plosbiology.org 🦠🦤🌳

PLOS Biology@plosbiology.org

Bacterial genomes are remarkably dynamic, shaped by horizontal transfer of plasmids that follow evolutionary trajectories of their own. This study uses eco-evolutionary perspectives to reveal how #plasmid communities are shaped and contribute to bacterial #evolution. 🧪 #AcademicSky plos.io/4gAJGlB

Our new paper is out in @PLOS Biology! 🎉 “Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics” 🔗 doi.org/10.1371/jour... More on the main findings in the next posts 👇

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In the future, many other characteristics of MGEs (host species partitioning, immunity, etc.) will need to be incorporated to gain a better understanding ✂️

Thanks to the co-authors @emmacacia.bsky.social @charlescoluzzi.bsky.social @labxc.bsky.social @thomaskoffel.bsky.social and S. Venner 📝

Our new paper is out in @PLOS Biology! 🎉 “Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics” 🔗 doi.org/10.1371/jour... More on the main findings in the next posts 👇

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By unifying these two perspectives on the maintenance of diversity, we demonstrate how the eco-evolutionary assembly of plasmids leads to the emergence of three functionally distinct plasmid clusters, associated with simulated abundance distribution that accurately fits the observed one.

Finally, this study shows that the theoretical framework and tools of community ecology provide a better understanding of plasmid diversity and, more broadly, of MGEs 🦠

Our new paper is out in @PLOS Biology! 🎉 “Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics” 🔗 doi.org/10.1371/jour... More on the main findings in the next posts 👇

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We propose an eco-evolutionary mathematical model of competition among plasmids in a bacterial (meta-)population to explore the mechanisms that may explain the maintenance of this diversity. On the one hand, differences in traits associated with environmental fluctuations allow plasmids to coexist.

On the other hand, even in the absence of trait differences, demographic and environmental stochasticity allow for the sustainable maintenance of the simulated plasmid diversity, which accurately fits the observed diversity, provided that dispersion and innovation are taken into account.

Our new paper is out in @PLOS Biology! 🎉 “Ecological theory sheds light on plasmid diversity and dynamics” 🔗 doi.org/10.1371/jour... More on the main findings in the next posts 👇