Nutrient status shapes selfish mitochondrial genome dynamics across different levels of selection

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.56686
• Publication Date: 2020-09-22T00:00:27Z
• Authors: Bryan L Gitschlag; Ann T Tate; Maulik R Patel
• Keywords: Heteroplasmy; Genetic Fitness; Evolutionary Dynamics

Cooperation and cheating are widespread evolutionary strategies. While confers an advantage to individual entities within a group, competition between groups favors cooperation. Selfish or cheater mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) proliferates hosts while being selected against at the level of host fitness. How does environment shape dynamics across different selection levels? Focusing on food availability, we address this question using heteroplasmic Caenorhabditis elegans . We find that proliferation selfish mtDNA depends nutrient status stimulating biogenesis in developing germline. Interestingly, is not sufficient for proliferation, which also requires stress-response transcription factor FoxO/DAF-16. At fitness, FoxO/DAF-16 prevents scarcity from accelerating mtDNA. This suggests ability cope with stress can promote tolerance cheaters. Our study delineates environmental effects levels selection.