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Ramisetty S, Subbalakshmi AR, Pareek S, Mirzapoiazova T, Do D, Prabhakar D, Pisick E, Shrestha S, Achuthan S, Bhattacharya S, Malhotra J, Mohanty A, Singhal SS, Salgia R, Kulkarni P. Leveraging Cancer Phenotypic Plasticity for Novel Treatment Strategies. J Clin Med 2024; 13:3337. [PMID: 38893049 PMCID: PMC11172618 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13113337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells, like all other organisms, are adept at switching their phenotype to adjust to the changes in their environment. Thus, phenotypic plasticity is a quantitative trait that confers a fitness advantage to the cancer cell by altering its phenotype to suit environmental circumstances. Until recently, new traits, especially in cancer, were thought to arise due to genetic factors; however, it is now amply evident that such traits could also emerge non-genetically due to phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, phenotypic plasticity of cancer cells contributes to phenotypic heterogeneity in the population, which is a major impediment in treating the disease. Finally, plasticity also impacts the group behavior of cancer cells, since competition and cooperation among multiple clonal groups within the population and the interactions they have with the tumor microenvironment also contribute to the evolution of drug resistance. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that cancer cells exploit to tailor their phenotypes at a systems level can aid the development of novel cancer therapeutics and treatment strategies. Here, we present our perspective on a team medicine-based approach to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomenon to develop new therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sravani Ramisetty
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Ayalur Raghu Subbalakshmi
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Siddhika Pareek
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Tamara Mirzapoiazova
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Dana Do
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Dhivya Prabhakar
- City of Hope Atlanta, 600 Celebrate Life Parkway, Newnan, GA 30265, USA;
| | - Evan Pisick
- City of Hope Chicago, 2520 Elisha Avenue, Zion, IL 60099, USA;
| | - Sagun Shrestha
- City of Hope Phoenix, 14200 West Celebrate Life Way, Goodyear, AZ 85338, USA;
| | - Srisairam Achuthan
- Center for Informatics, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA;
| | - Supriyo Bhattacharya
- Integrative Genomics Core, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA;
| | - Jyoti Malhotra
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Atish Mohanty
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Sharad S. Singhal
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Ravi Salgia
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
| | - Prakash Kulkarni
- Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; (S.R.); (A.R.S.); (S.P.); (T.M.); (D.D.); (J.M.); (A.M.); (S.S.S.)
- Department of Systems Biology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
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Zhang S. Educational cooperation in the perspective of tripartite evolutionary game among government, enterprises and universities. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0294742. [PMID: 38166005 PMCID: PMC10760769 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Government-enterprise-university synergy (GEUS) is an effective way to mobilize government, enterprises, and universities to collaborate on education, but these three parties involved in GEUS may, out of bounded rationality, choose to collaborate in ways that benefit themselves and harm others. To guide the three parties to better cooperation, this study creates an evolutionary game model among the three parties and evaluates the applicability and validity of the model by selecting the educational cooperation data in Beijing. It is shown that participation in education cooperation is the best course of action for all three parties. The intensity of willingness to participate in the GEUS is on the order of high to low for universities, enterprises, and the government. If the three parties wish to accomplish education collaboration sooner, they can increase default payments, boost government revenues, raise corporate participation in distribution, and reduce government and government spending. These results highlight the inherent regularities of GEUS and provide concrete implementation strategies to improve the efficiency of education cooperation.
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Dwivedi S, Glock C, Germerodt S, Stark H, Schuster S. Game-theoretical description of the go-or-grow dichotomy in tumor development for various settings and parameter constellations. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16758. [PMID: 37798314 PMCID: PMC10555990 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43199-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023] Open
Abstract
A medically important feature of several types of tumors is their ability to "decide" between staying at a primary site in the body or leaving it and forming metastases. The present theoretical study aims to provide a better understanding of the ultimate reasons for this so-called "go-or-grow" dichotomy. To that end, we use game theory, which has proven to be useful in analyzing the competition between tumors and healthy tissues or among different tumor cells. We begin by determining the game types in the Basanta-Hatzikirou-Deutsch model, depending on the parameter values. Thereafter, we suggest and analyze five modified variants of the model. For example, in the basic model, the deadlock game, Prisoner's Dilemma, and hawk-dove game can occur. The modified versions lead to several additional game types, such as battle of the sexes, route-choice, and stag-hunt games. For some game types, all cells are predicted to stay on their original site ("grow phenotype"), while for other types, only a certain fraction stay and the other cells migrate away ("go phenotype"). If the nutrient supply at a distant site is high, all the cells are predicted to go. We discuss our predictions in terms of the pros and cons of caloric restriction and limitations of the supply of vitamins or methionine. Our results may help devise treatments to prevent metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalu Dwivedi
- Department of Bioinformatics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Christina Glock
- Department of Bioinformatics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Sebastian Germerodt
- Department of Bioinformatics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Heiko Stark
- Department of Bioinformatics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, 07743, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Zoology and Evolutionary Research, University of Jena, Erbertstr. 1, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Stefan Schuster
- Department of Bioinformatics, Matthias Schleiden Institute, Friedrich Schiller University, Ernst-Abbe-Platz 2, 07743, Jena, Germany.
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Ma Z(S, Yang L. CDC (Cindy and David's Conversations) game: Advising President to survive pandemic. iScience 2023; 26:107079. [PMID: 37361877 PMCID: PMC10250248 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Ongoing debates on anti-COVID19 policies have been focused on coexistence-with versus zero-out (virus) strategies, which can be simplified as "always open (AO)" versus "always closed (AC)." We postulate that a middle ground, dubbed LOHC (low-risk-open and high-risk-closed), is likely favorable, precluding obviously irrational HOLC (high-risk-open and low-risk-closed). From a meta-strategy perspective, these four policies cover the full spectrum of anti-pandemic policies. By emulating the reality of anti-pandemic policies today, the study aims to identify possible cognitive gaps and traps by harnessing the power of evolutionary game-theoretic analysis and simulations, which suggest that (1) AO and AC seem to be "high-probability" events (0.412-0.533); (2) counter-intuitively, the middle ground-LOHC-seems to be small-probability event (0.053), possibly mirroring its wide adoptions but broad failures. Besides devising specific policies, an equally important challenge seems to deal with often hardly avoidable policy transitions along the process from emergence, epidemic, through pandemic, to endemic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanshan (Sam) Ma
- Computational Biology and Medical Ecology Lab, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
- Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223 China
| | - Liexun Yang
- Bureau of Planning and Policy, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing 100085, China
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Christie MR, McNickle GG. Negative frequency dependent selection unites ecology and evolution. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10327. [PMID: 37484931 PMCID: PMC10361363 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
From genes to communities, understanding how diversity is maintained remains a fundamental question in biology. One challenging to identify, yet potentially ubiquitous, mechanism for the maintenance of diversity is negative frequency dependent selection (NFDS), which occurs when entities (e.g., genotypes, life history strategies, species) experience a per capita reduction in fitness with increases in relative abundance. Because NFDS allows rare entities to increase in frequency while preventing abundant entities from excluding others, we posit that negative frequency dependent selection plays a central role in the maintenance of diversity. In this review, we relate NFDS to coexistence, identify mechanisms of NFDS (e.g., mutualism, predation, parasitism), review strategies for identifying NFDS, and distinguish NFDS from other mechanisms of coexistence (e.g., storage effects, fluctuating selection). We also emphasize that NFDS is a key place where ecology and evolution intersect. Specifically, there are many examples of frequency dependent processes in ecology, but fewer cases that link this process to selection. Similarly, there are many examples of selection in evolution, but fewer cases that link changes in trait values to negative frequency dependence. Bridging these two well-developed fields of ecology and evolution will allow for mechanistic insights into the maintenance of diversity at multiple levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark R. Christie
- Department of Biological SciencesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndianaUSA
- Department of Forestry and Natural ResourcesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndianaUSA
| | - Gordon G. McNickle
- Department of Biological SciencesPurdue UniversityWest LafayetteIndianaUSA
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Stein A, Salvioli M, Garjani H, Dubbeldam J, Viossat Y, Brown JS, Staňková K. Stackelberg evolutionary game theory: how to manage evolving systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210495. [PMID: 36934755 PMCID: PMC10024980 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Stackelberg evolutionary game (SEG) theory combines classical and evolutionary game theory to frame interactions between a rational leader and evolving followers. In some of these interactions, the leader wants to preserve the evolving system (e.g. fisheries management), while in others, they try to drive the system to extinction (e.g. pest control). Often the worst strategy for the leader is to adopt a constant aggressive strategy (e.g. overfishing in fisheries management or maximum tolerable dose in cancer treatment). Taking into account the ecological dynamics typically leads to better outcomes for the leader and corresponds to the Nash equilibria in game-theoretic terms. However, the leader's most profitable strategy is to anticipate and steer the eco-evolutionary dynamics, leading to the Stackelberg equilibrium of the game. We show how our results have the potential to help in fields where humans try to bring an evolutionary system into the desired outcome, such as, among others, fisheries management, pest management and cancer treatment. Finally, we discuss limitations and opportunities for applying SEGs to improve the management of evolving biological systems. This article is part of the theme issue 'Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Stein
- Centre for Cancer Genomics and Computational Biology, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University London, London EC1M 5PZ, UK
| | - Monica Salvioli
- Institute for Health Systems Science, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Hasti Garjani
- Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Johan Dubbeldam
- Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Yannick Viossat
- CEREMADE, CNRS, Université Paris-Dauphine, Université PSL, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Joel S Brown
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Kateřina Staňková
- Institute for Health Systems Science, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
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Richter XYL, Lehtonen J. Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210492. [PMID: 36934758 PMCID: PMC10024977 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xiang-Yi Li Richter
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Jussi Lehtonen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
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Cotner M, Meng S, Jost T, Gardner A, De Santiago C, Brock A. Integration of quantitative methods and mathematical approaches for the modeling of cancer cell proliferation dynamics. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2023; 324:C247-C262. [PMID: 36503241 PMCID: PMC9886359 DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00185.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Physiological processes rely on the control of cell proliferation, and the dysregulation of these processes underlies various pathological conditions, including cancer. Mathematical modeling can provide new insights into the complex regulation of cell proliferation dynamics. In this review, we first examine quantitative experimental approaches for measuring cell proliferation dynamics in vitro and compare the various types of data that can be obtained in these settings. We then explore the toolbox of common mathematical modeling frameworks that can describe cell behavior, dynamics, and interactions of proliferation. We discuss how these wet-laboratory studies may be integrated with different mathematical modeling approaches to aid the interpretation of the results and to enable the prediction of cell behaviors, specifically in the context of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Cotner
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Sarah Meng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Tyler Jost
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Andrea Gardner
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Carolina De Santiago
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Amy Brock
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
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9
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Khajehnejad M, García J, Meyer B. Explaining workers' inactivity in social colonies from first principles. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20220808. [PMID: 36596450 PMCID: PMC9810424 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Social insects are among the ecologically most successful collectively living organisms, with efficient division of labour a key feature of this success. Surprisingly, these efficient colonies often have a large proportion of inactive workers in their workforce, sometimes referred to as lazy workers. The dominant hypotheses explaining this are based on specific life-history traits, specific behavioural features or uncertain environments where inactive workers can provide a 'reserve' workforce that can spring into action quickly. While there is a number of experimental studies that show and investigate the presence of inactive workers, mathematical and computational models exploring specific hypotheses are not common. Here, using a simple mathematical model, we show that a parsimonious hypothesis can explain this puzzling social phenomenon. Our model incorporates social interactions and environmental influences into a game-theoretical framework and captures how individuals react to environment by allocating their activity according to environmental conditions. This model shows that inactivity can emerge under specific environmental conditions as a by-product of the task allocation process. Our model confirms the empirical observation that in the case of worker loss, prior homeostatic balance is re-established by replacing some of the lost force with previously inactive workers. Most importantly, our model shows that inactivity in social colonies can be explained without the need to assume an adaptive function for this phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moein Khajehnejad
- Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Julian García
- Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Bernd Meyer
- Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
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10
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Pásztor L. Population regulation and adaptive dynamics of cross-feeding. Biol Futur 2022; 73:393-403. [PMID: 36550237 DOI: 10.1007/s42977-022-00147-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The particular importance of evolutionary studies in microbial experimental systems is that starting from the level of the metabolism of individual cells, the adaptive dynamics can be followed step by step by biochemical, genetic, and population dynamical tools. Moreover, the coincidence of evolutionary and ecological time scales helps to clarify the mutual role of ecological and evolutionary principles in predicting adaptive dynamics in general. Ecological principles define the ecological conditions under which adaptive branching can occur. This paper overviews and interprets the results of empirical and modeling studies of the evolution of metabolic cross-feeding in glucose-limited E.coli chemostats and batch cultures in the context of theories of robust coexistence and adaptive dynamics. Empirical results consistently demonstrate that the interactions between cells are mediated by the changing metabolite concentrations in the cultures and modeling confirms that these changes may control the adaptive dynamics of the clones. In consequence, the potential results of evolution can be predicted at the functional level by evolutionary flux balance analysis (evoFBA), while the genetic changes are more contingent. evoFBA follows the scheme of adaptive dynamics theory by calculating the feedback environment that changes during the evolutionary process and provides a promising tool to further investigate adaptive divergence in small microbial communities. Three general conclusions close the paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liz Pásztor
- School of Advanced Studies, University of Tyumen, Tyumen, 800 000, Siberia, Russia. .,Department of Genetics, Eötvös University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary.
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11
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Jessup LH, Halloway AH, Mickelbart MV, McNickle GG. Information theory and plant ecology. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura H. Jessup
- Dept of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
- Dept of Ecological Sciences and Engineering, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
| | - Abdel H. Halloway
- Dept of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
- Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
| | - Michael V. Mickelbart
- Dept of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
- Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
| | - Gordon G. McNickle
- Dept of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
- Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue Univ. West Lafayette IN USA
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12
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Halloway AH, Heath KD, McNickle GG. When does mutualism offer a competitive advantage? A game-theoretic analysis of host-host competition in mutualism. AOB PLANTS 2022; 14:plac010. [PMID: 35444786 PMCID: PMC9015964 DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plac010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Due to their non-motile nature, plants rely heavily on mutualistic interactions to obtain resources and carry out services. One key mutualism is the plant-microbial mutualism in which a plant trades away carbon to a microbial partner for nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Plants show much variation in the use of this partnership from the individual level to entire lineages depending upon ecological, evolutionary and environmental context. We sought to determine how this context dependency could result in the promotion, exclusion or coexistence of the microbial mutualism by asking if and when the partnership provided a competitive advantage to the plant. To that end, we created a 2 × 2 evolutionary game in which plants could either be a mutualist and pair with a microbe or be a non-mutualist and forgo the partnership. Our model includes both frequency dependence and density dependence, which gives us the eco-evolutionary dynamics of mutualism evolution. As in all models, mutualism only evolved if it could offer a competitive advantage and its net benefit was positive. However, surprisingly the model reveals the possibility of coexistence between mutualist and non-mutualist genotypes due to competition between mutualists over the microbially obtained nutrient. Specifically, frequency dependence of host strategies can make the microbial symbiont less beneficial if the microbially derived resources are shared, a phenomenon that increasingly reduces the frequency of mutualism as the density of competitors increases. In essence, ecological competition can act as a hindrance to mutualism evolution. We go on to discuss basic experiments that can be done to test and falsify our hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdel H Halloway
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue (M/C 116), Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Katy D Heath
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 505 S. Goodwin Avenue (M/C 116), Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois, 1206 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Gordon G McNickle
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
- Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue University, 915 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
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Bayer P, Gatenby RA, McDonald PH, Duckett DR, Staňková K, Brown JS. Coordination games in cancer. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261578. [PMID: 35061724 PMCID: PMC8782377 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose a model of cancer initiation and progression where tumor growth is modulated by an evolutionary coordination game. Evolutionary games of cancer are widely used to model frequency-dependent cell interactions with the most studied games being the Prisoner's Dilemma and public goods games. Coordination games, by their more obscure and less evocative nature, are left understudied, despite the fact that, as we argue, they offer great potential in understanding and treating cancer. In this paper we present the conditions under which coordination games between cancer cells evolve, we propose aspects of cancer that can be modeled as results of coordination games, and explore the ways through which coordination games of cancer can be exploited for therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter Bayer
- Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Robert A. Gatenby
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Patricia H. McDonald
- Department of Cancer Physiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida United States of America
| | - Derek R. Duckett
- Department of Drug Discovery, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Kateřina Staňková
- Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, Delft University, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Joel S. Brown
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
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Abstract
We propose a model of cancer initiation and progression where tumor growth is modulated by an evolutionary coordination game. Evolutionary games of cancer are widely used to model frequency-dependent cell interactions with the most studied games being the Prisoner's Dilemma and public goods games. Coordination games, by their more obscure and less evocative nature, are left understudied, despite the fact that, as we argue, they offer great potential in understanding and treating cancer. In this paper we present the conditions under which coordination games between cancer cells evolve, we propose aspects of cancer that can be modeled as results of coordination games, and explore the ways through which coordination games of cancer can be exploited for therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter Bayer
- Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, France
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Robert A Gatenby
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Patricia H McDonald
- Department of Cancer Physiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida United States of America
| | - Derek R Duckett
- Department of Drug Discovery, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
| | - Kateřina Staňková
- Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, Delft University, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Joel S Brown
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
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15
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Abstract
Classical evolutionary game theory allows one to analyze the population dynamics of interacting individuals playing different strategies (broadly defined) in a population. To expand the scope of this framework to allow us to examine the evolution of these individuals’ strategies over time, we present the idea of a fitness-generating (G) function. Under this model, we can simultaneously consider population (ecological) and strategy (evolutionary) dynamics. In this paper, we briefly outline the differences between game theory and classical evolutionary game theory. We then introduce the G function framework, deriving the model from fundamental biological principles. We introduce the concept of a G-function species, explain the process of modeling with G functions, and define the conditions for evolutionary stable strategies (ESS). We conclude by presenting expository examples of G function model construction and simulations in the context of predator–prey dynamics and the evolution of drug resistance in cancer.
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16
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Wölfl B, te Rietmole H, Salvioli M, Kaznatcheev A, Thuijsman F, Brown JS, Burgering B, Staňková K. The Contribution of Evolutionary Game Theory to Understanding and Treating Cancer. DYNAMIC GAMES AND APPLICATIONS 2021; 12:313-342. [PMID: 35601872 PMCID: PMC9117378 DOI: 10.1007/s13235-021-00397-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Evolutionary game theory mathematically conceptualizes and analyzes biological interactions where one's fitness not only depends on one's own traits, but also on the traits of others. Typically, the individuals are not overtly rational and do not select, but rather inherit their traits. Cancer can be framed as such an evolutionary game, as it is composed of cells of heterogeneous types undergoing frequency-dependent selection. In this article, we first summarize existing works where evolutionary game theory has been employed in modeling cancer and improving its treatment. Some of these game-theoretic models suggest how one could anticipate and steer cancer's eco-evolutionary dynamics into states more desirable for the patient via evolutionary therapies. Such therapies offer great promise for increasing patient survival and decreasing drug toxicity, as demonstrated by some recent studies and clinical trials. We discuss clinical relevance of the existing game-theoretic models of cancer and its treatment, and opportunities for future applications. Moreover, we discuss the developments in cancer biology that are needed to better utilize the full potential of game-theoretic models. Ultimately, we demonstrate that viewing tumors with evolutionary game theory has medically useful implications that can inform and create a lockstep between empirical findings and mathematical modeling. We suggest that cancer progression is an evolutionary competition between different cell types and therefore needs to be viewed as an evolutionary game.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Wölfl
- Department of Mathematics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hedy te Rietmole
- Department of Molecular Cancer Research, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Monica Salvioli
- Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Artem Kaznatcheev
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Frank Thuijsman
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Joel S. Brown
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Boudewijn Burgering
- Department of Molecular Cancer Research, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- The Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Kateřina Staňková
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Engineering Systems and Services, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
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17
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Peplinski J, Malone MA, Fowler KJ, Potratz EJ, Pergams AG, Charmoy KL, Rasheed K, Avdieiev SS, Whelan CJ, Brown JS. Ecology of Fear: Spines, Armor and Noxious Chemicals Deter Predators in Cancer and in Nature. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.682504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In nature, many multicellular and unicellular organisms use constitutive defenses such as armor, spines, and noxious chemicals to keep predators at bay. These defenses render the prey difficult and/or dangerous to subdue and handle, which confers a strong deterrent for predators. The distinct benefit of this mode of defense is that prey can defend in place and continue activities such as foraging even under imminent threat of predation. The same qualitative types of armor-like, spine-like, and noxious defenses have evolved independently and repeatedly in nature, and we present evidence that cancer is no exception. Cancer cells exist in environments inundated with predator-like immune cells, so the ability of cancer cells to defend in place while foraging and proliferating would clearly be advantageous. We argue that these defenses repeatedly evolve in cancers and may be among the most advanced and important adaptations of cancers. By drawing parallels between several taxa exhibiting armor-like, spine-like, and noxious defenses, we present an overview of different ways these defenses can appear and emphasize how phenotypes that appear vastly different can nevertheless have the same essential functions. This cross-taxa comparison reveals how cancer phenotypes can be interpreted as anti-predator defenses, which can facilitate therapy approaches which aim to give the predators (the immune system) the upper hand. This cross-taxa comparison is also informative for evolutionary ecology. Cancer provides an opportunity to observe how prey evolve in the context of a unique predatory threat (the immune system) and varied environments.
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18
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19
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Edwards J, Marusyk A, Basanta D. Selection-driven tumor evolution with public goods leads to patterns of clonal expansion consistent with neutral growth. iScience 2021; 24:101901. [PMID: 33364589 PMCID: PMC7753957 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancers are the result of eco-evolutionary processes fueled by heritable phenotypic diversification and driven by environmentally dependent selection. Space represents a key growth-limiting ecological resource, the ability to explore this resource is likely under strong selection. Using agent-based modeling, we explored the interplay between phenotypic strategies centered on gaining access to new space through cell-extrinsic degradation of extracellular matrix barriers and the exploitation of this resource through maximizing cell proliferation. While cell proliferation is a cell-intrinsic property, newly accessed space represents a public good, which can benefit both producers and non-producers. We found that this interplay results in ecological succession, enabling emergence of large, heterogeneous, and highly proliferative populations. Even though in our simulations both remodeling and proliferation strategies were under strong positive selection, their interplay led to sub-clonal architecture that could be interpreted as evidence for neutral evolution, warranting cautious interpretation of inferences from sequencing of cancer genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Edwards
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 USF Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Andriy Marusyk
- Cancer Physiology Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, SRB 4 Rm 24000H, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA
| | - David Basanta
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, 12902 USF Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
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20
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Mokni K, Elaydi S, Ch-Chaoui M, Eladdadi A. Discrete evolutionary population models: a new approach. JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DYNAMICS 2020; 14:454-478. [PMID: 32589121 DOI: 10.1080/17513758.2020.1772997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we apply a new approach to a special class of discrete time evolution models and establish a solid mathematical foundation to analyse them. We propose new single and multi-species evolutionary competition models using the evolutionary game theory that require a more advanced mathematical theory to handle effectively. A key feature of this new approach is to consider the discrete models as non-autonomous difference equations. Using the powerful tools and results developed in our recent work [E. D'Aniello and S. Elaydi, The structure of ω-limit sets of asymptotically non-autonomous discrete dynamical systems, Discr. Contin. Dyn. Series B. 2019 (to appear).], we embed the non-autonomous difference equations in an autonomous discrete dynamical systems in a higher dimension space, which is the product space of the phase space and the space of the functions defining the non-autonomous system. Our current approach applies to two scenarios. In the first scenario, we assume that the trait equations are decoupled from the equations of the populations. This requires specialized biological and ecological assumptions which we clearly state. In the second scenario, we do not assume decoupling, but rather we assume that the dynamics of the trait is known, such as approaching a positive stable equilibrium point which may apply to a much broader evolutionary dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karima Mokni
- Department of Mathematics, LS3M Polydisciplinary Faculty of Khouribga, Sultan My Slimane University, Khouribga, Morocco
| | - Saber Elaydi
- Department of Mathematics, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Mohamed Ch-Chaoui
- Department of Mathematics, LS3M Polydisciplinary Faculty of Khouribga, Sultan My Slimane University, Khouribga, Morocco
| | - Amina Eladdadi
- Department of Mathematics, The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY, USA
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21
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Jia D, Wang X, Song Z, Romić I, Li X, Jusup M, Wang Z. Evolutionary dynamics drives role specialization in a community of players. J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20200174. [PMID: 32693747 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The progression of game theory from classical to evolutionary and spatial games provided a powerful means to study cooperation, and enabled a better understanding of general cooperation-promoting mechanisms. However, current standard models assume that at any given point players must choose either cooperation or defection, meaning that regardless of the spatial structure in which they exist, they cannot differentiate between their neighbours and adjust their behaviour accordingly. This is at odds with interactions among organisms in nature who are well capable of behaving differently towards different members of their communities. We account for this natural fact by introducing a new type of player-dubbed link players-who can adjust their behaviour to each individual neighbour. This is in contrast to more common node players whose behaviour affects all neighbours in the same way. We proceed to study cooperation in pure and mixed populations, showing that cooperation peaks at moderately low densities of link players. In such conditions, players naturally specialize in different roles. Node players tend to be either cooperators or defectors, while link players form social insulation between cooperative and defecting clusters by acting both as cooperators and defectors. Such fairly complex processes emerging from a simple model reflect some of the complexities observed in experimental studies on social behaviour in microbes and pave a way for the development of richer game models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danyang Jia
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.,Center for OPTical IMagery Analysis and Learning (OPTIMAL), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinyu Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.,Center for OPTical IMagery Analysis and Learning (OPTIMAL), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhao Song
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.,Center for OPTical IMagery Analysis and Learning (OPTIMAL), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China
| | - Ivan Romić
- Center for OPTical IMagery Analysis and Learning (OPTIMAL), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.,Statistics and Mathematics College, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming 650221, People's Republic of China.,Graduate School of Economics, Osaka City University, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
| | - Xuelong Li
- Center for OPTical IMagery Analysis and Learning (OPTIMAL), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.,School of Computer Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China
| | - Marko Jusup
- Tokyo Tech World Research Hub Initiative (WRHI), Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
| | - Zhen Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.,Center for OPTical IMagery Analysis and Learning (OPTIMAL), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China
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22
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Di Plinio S, Ebisch SJH. Combining local and global evolutionary trajectories of brain-behaviour relationships through game theory. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 52:4198-4213. [PMID: 32594640 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The study of the evolution of brain-behaviour relationships concerns understanding the causes and repercussions of cross- and within-species variability. Understanding such variability is a main objective of evolutionary and cognitive neuroscience, and it may help explaining the appearance of psychopathological phenotypes. Although brain evolution is related to the progressive action of selection and adaptation through multiple paths (e.g. mosaic vs. concerted evolution, metabolic vs. structural and functional constraints), a coherent, integrative framework is needed to combine evolutionary paths and neuroscientific evidence. Here, we review the literature on evolutionary pressures focusing on structural-functional changes and developmental constraints. Taking advantage of recent progress in neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience, we propose a twofold hypothetical model of brain evolution. Within this model, global and local trajectories imply rearrangements of neural subunits and subsystems and of behavioural repertoires of a species, respectively. We incorporate these two processes in a game in which the global trajectory shapes the structural-functional neural substrates (i.e. players), while the local trajectory shapes the behavioural repertoires (i.e. stochastic payoffs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.,Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G D'Annunzio University of Chieti Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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23
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Chen R, Meyer B, Garcia J. A computational model of task allocation in social insects: ecology and interactions alone can drive specialisation. SWARM INTELLIGENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11721-020-00180-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
AbstractSocial insects allocate their workforce in a decentralised fashion, addressing multiple tasks and responding effectively to environmental changes. This process is fundamental to their ecological success, but the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. While most models focus on internal and individual factors, empirical evidence highlights the importance of ecology and social interactions. To address this gap, we propose a game theoretical model of task allocation. Our main findings are twofold: Firstly, the specialisation emerging from self-organised task allocation can be largely determined by the ecology. Weakly specialised colonies in which all individuals perform more than one task emerge when foraging is cheap; in contrast, harsher environments with high foraging costs lead to strong specialisation in which each individual fully engages in a single task. Secondly, social interactions lead to important differences in dynamic environments. Colonies whose individuals rely on their own experience are predicted to be more flexible when dealing with change than colonies relying on social information. We also find that, counter to intuition, strongly specialised colonies may perform suboptimally, whereas the group performance of weakly specialised colonies approaches optimality. Our simulation results fully agree with the predictions of the mathematical model for the regions where the latter is analytically tractable. Our results are useful in framing relevant and important empirical questions, where ecology and interactions are key elements of hypotheses and predictions.
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24
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West J, You L, Zhang J, Gatenby RA, Brown JS, Newton PK, Anderson ARA. Towards Multidrug Adaptive Therapy. Cancer Res 2020; 80:1578-1589. [PMID: 31948939 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-19-2669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A new ecologically inspired paradigm in cancer treatment known as "adaptive therapy" capitalizes on competitive interactions between drug-sensitive and drug-resistant subclones. The goal of adaptive therapy is to maintain a controllable stable tumor burden by allowing a significant population of treatment-sensitive cells to survive. These, in turn, suppress proliferation of the less-fit resistant populations. However, there remain several open challenges in designing adaptive therapies, particularly in extending these therapeutic concepts to multiple treatments. We present a cancer treatment case study (metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer) as a point of departure to illustrate three novel concepts to aid the design of multidrug adaptive therapies. First, frequency-dependent "cycles" of tumor evolution can trap tumor evolution in a periodic, controllable loop. Second, the availability and selection of treatments may limit the evolutionary "absorbing region" reachable by the tumor. Third, the velocity of evolution significantly influences the optimal timing of drug sequences. These three conceptual advances provide a path forward for multidrug adaptive therapy. SIGNIFICANCE: Driving tumor evolution into periodic, repeatable treatment cycles provides a path forward for multidrug adaptive therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey West
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida.
| | - Li You
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Jingsong Zhang
- Department of Genitourinary Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Robert A Gatenby
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Joel S Brown
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida.,Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida
| | - Paul K Newton
- Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Alexander R A Anderson
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, Florida.
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25
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Stanková K, Brown JS, Dalton WS, Gatenby RA. Optimizing Cancer Treatment Using Game Theory: A Review. JAMA Oncol 2019; 5:96-103. [PMID: 30098166 DOI: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.3395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Importance While systemic therapy for disseminated cancer is often initially successful, malignant cells, using diverse adaptive strategies encoded in the human genome, almost invariably evolve resistance, leading to treatment failure. Thus, the Darwinian dynamics of resistance are formidable barriers to all forms of systemic cancer treatment but rarely integrated into clinical trial design or included within precision oncology initiatives. Observations We investigate cancer treatment as a game theoretic contest between the physician's therapy and the cancer cells' resistance strategies. This game has 2 critical asymmetries: (1) Only the physician can play rationally. Cancer cells, like all evolving organisms, can only adapt to current conditions; they can neither anticipate nor evolve adaptations for treatments that the physician has not yet applied. (2) It has a distinctive leader-follower (or "Stackelberg") dynamics; the "leader" oncologist plays first and the "follower" cancer cells then respond and adapt to therapy. Current treatment protocols for metastatic cancer typically exploit neither asymmetry. By repeatedly administering the same drug(s) until disease progression, the physician "plays" a fixed strategy even as the opposing cancer cells continuously evolve successful adaptive responses. Furthermore, by changing treatment only when the tumor progresses, the physician cedes leadership to the cancer cells and treatment failure becomes nearly inevitable. Without fundamental changes in strategy, standard-of-care cancer therapy typically results in "Nash solutions" in which no unilateral change in treatment can favorably alter the outcome. Conclusions and Relevance Physicians can exploit the advantages inherent in the asymmetries of the cancer treatment game, and likely improve outcomes, by adopting more dynamic treatment protocols that integrate eco-evolutionary dynamics and modulate therapy accordingly. Implementing this approach will require new metrics of tumor response that incorporate both ecological (ie, size) and evolutionary (ie, molecular mechanisms of resistance and relative size of resistant population) changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Stanková
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.,Delft Institute of Applied Mathematics, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Joel S Brown
- Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
| | - William S Dalton
- Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida.,M2Gen Health Informatics Solutions, Tampa, Florida
| | - Robert A Gatenby
- Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
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26
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Fulton EA, Blanchard JL, Melbourne-Thomas J, Plagányi ÉE, Tulloch VJD. Where the Ecological Gaps Remain, a Modelers' Perspective. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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27
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West JB, Dinh MN, Brown JS, Zhang J, Anderson AR, Gatenby RA. Multidrug Cancer Therapy in Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer: An Evolution-Based Strategy. Clin Cancer Res 2019; 25:4413-4421. [PMID: 30992299 PMCID: PMC6665681 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-19-0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Revised: 02/21/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Integration of evolutionary dynamics into systemic therapy for metastatic cancers can prolong tumor control compared with standard maximum tolerated dose (MTD) strategies. Prior investigations have focused on monotherapy, but many clinical cancer treatments combine two or more drugs. Optimizing the evolutionary dynamics in multidrug therapy is challenging because of the complex cellular interactions and the large parameter space of potential variations in drugs, doses, and treatment schedules. However, multidrug therapy also represents an opportunity to further improve outcomes using evolution-based strategies. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN We examine evolution-based strategies for two-drug therapy and identify an approach that divides the treatment drugs into primary and secondary roles. The primary drug has the greatest efficacy and/or lowest toxicity. The secondary drug is applied solely to reduce the resistant population to the primary drug. RESULTS Simulations from the mathematical model demonstrate that the primary-secondary approach increases time to progression (TTP) compared with conventional strategies in which drugs are administered without regard to evolutionary dynamics. We apply our model to an ongoing adaptive therapy clinical trial of evolution-based administration of abiraterone to treat metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Model simulations, parameterized with data from individual patients who progressed, demonstrate that strategic application of docetaxel during abiraterone therapy would have significantly increased their TTP. CONCLUSIONS Mathematical models can integrate evolutionary dynamics into multidrug cancer clinical trials. This has the potential to improve outcomes and to develop clinical trials in which these mathematical models are also used to estimate the mechanism(s) of treatment failure and explore alternative strategies to improve outcomes in future trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey B West
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
| | - Mina N Dinh
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Joel S Brown
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
| | - Jingsong Zhang
- Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
| | - Alexander R Anderson
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida
| | - Robert A Gatenby
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida.
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28
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Affiliation(s)
- Kateřina Staňková
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
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29
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Cunningham JJ, Brown JS, Gatenby RA, Staňková K. Optimal control to develop therapeutic strategies for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer. J Theor Biol 2018; 459:67-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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30
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Koffel T, Daufresne T, Massol F, Klausmeier CA. Plant Strategies along Resource Gradients. Am Nat 2018; 192:360-378. [DOI: 10.1086/698600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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31
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Zhang J, Cunningham JJ, Brown JS, Gatenby RA. Integrating evolutionary dynamics into treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1816. [PMID: 29180633 PMCID: PMC5703947 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01968-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 296] [Impact Index Per Article: 42.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abiraterone treats metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer by inhibiting CYP17A, an enzyme for testosterone auto-production. With standard dosing, evolution of resistance with treatment failure (radiographic progression) occurs at a median of ~16.5 months. We hypothesize time to progression (TTP) could be increased by integrating evolutionary dynamics into therapy. We developed an evolutionary game theory model using Lotka–Volterra equations with three competing cancer “species”: androgen dependent, androgen producing, and androgen independent. Simulations with standard abiraterone dosing demonstrate strong selection for androgen-independent cells and rapid treatment failure. Adaptive therapy, using patient-specific tumor dynamics to inform on/off treatment cycles, suppresses proliferation of androgen-independent cells and lowers cumulative drug dose. In a pilot clinical trial, 10 of 11 patients maintained stable oscillations of tumor burdens; median TTP is at least 27 months with reduced cumulative drug use of 47% of standard dosing. The outcomes show significant improvement over published studies and a contemporaneous population. Evolution of resistance is a common cause of cancer treatment failure and tumor progression. Here, the authors present a method for integrating evolutionary principles based on adaptive therapy into abiraterone therapy for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer and show the positive results of an interim analysis of a trial cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingsong Zhang
- Department of Genitourinary Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Jessica J Cunningham
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA
| | - Joel S Brown
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA
| | - Robert A Gatenby
- Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA. .,Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA.
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32
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Basanta D, Anderson ARA. Homeostasis Back and Forth: An Ecoevolutionary Perspective of Cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2017; 7:cshperspect.a028332. [PMID: 28289244 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a028332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The role of genetic mutations in cancer is indisputable: They are a key source of tumor heterogeneity and drive its evolution to malignancy. But, the success of these new mutant cells relies on their ability to disrupt the homeostasis that characterizes healthy tissues. Mutated clones unable to break free from intrinsic and extrinsic homeostatic controls will fail to establish a tumor. Here, we will discuss, through the lens of mathematical and computational modeling, why an evolutionary view of cancer needs to be complemented by an ecological perspective to understand why cancer cells invade and subsequently transform their environment during progression. Importantly, this ecological perspective needs to account for tissue homeostasis in the organs that tumors invade, because they perturb the normal regulatory dynamics of these tissues, often coopting them for its own gain. Furthermore, given our current lack of success in treating advanced metastatic cancers through tumor-centric therapeutic strategies, we propose that treatments that aim to restore homeostasis could become a promising venue of clinical research. This ecoevolutionary view of cancer requires mechanistic mathematical models to both integrate clinical with biological data from different scales but also to detangle the dynamic feedback between the tumor and its environment. Importantly, for these models to be useful, they need to embrace a higher degree of complexity than many mathematical modelers are traditionally comfortable with.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Basanta
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612
| | - Alexander R A Anderson
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612
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Brown JS, Staňková K. Game theory as a conceptual framework for managing insect pests. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2017; 21:26-32. [PMID: 28822485 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2017] [Revised: 05/06/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
For over 100 years it has been recognized that insect pests evolve resistance to chemical pesticides. More recently, managers have advocated restrained use of pesticides, crop rotation, the use of multiple pesticides, and pesticide-free sanctuaries as resistance management practices. Game theory provides a conceptual framework for combining the resistance strategies of the insects and the control strategies of the pest manager into a unified conceptual and modelling framework. Game theory can contrast an ecologically enlightened application of pesticides with an evolutionarily enlightened one. In the former case the manager only considers ecological consequences whereas the latter anticipates the evolutionary response of the pests. Broader applications of this game theory approach include anti-biotic resistance, fisheries management and therapy resistance in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel S Brown
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Dr., Tampa, FL 33612, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, 845 W. Taylor St., University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
| | - Kateřina Staňková
- Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering, P.O. Box 616, Maastricht University, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Gatenby RA, Brown J. Mutations, evolution and the central role of a self-defined fitness function in the initiation and progression of cancer. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2017; 1867:162-166. [PMID: 28341421 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2017.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2017] [Revised: 03/18/2017] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The origin and progression of cancer is widely viewed as "somatic evolution" driven by the accumulation of random genetic changes. This theoretical model, however, neglects fundamental conditions for evolution by natural selection, which include competition for survival and a local environmental context. Recent observations that the mutational burden in different cancers can vary by 2 orders of magnitude and that multiple mutations, some of which are "oncogenic," are observed in normal tissue suggests these neglected Darwinian dynamics may play a critical role in modifying the evolutionary consequences of molecular events. Here we discuss evolutionary principles in normal tissue focusing on the dynamical tension between different evolutionary levels of selection. Normal somatic cells within metazoans do not ordinarily evolve because their survival and proliferation are governed by tissue signals and internal controls (e.g. telomere shortening) that maintain homeostatic function. The fitness of each cell is, thus, identical to the whole organism, which is the evolutionary level of selection. For a cell to evolve, it must acquire a self-defined fitness function so that its survival and proliferation is determined entirely by its own heritable phenotypic properties. Cells can develop independence from normal tissue control through randomly accumulating mutations that disrupt its ability to recognize or respond to all host signals. A self-defined fitness function can also be gained non-genetically when tissue control signals are lost due to injury, inflammation, or infection. Accumulating mutations in cells without a self-defined fitness function will produce no evolution - consistent with reports showing mutations, including some that would ordinarily be oncogenic, are present in cells from normal tissue. Furthermore, once evolution begins, Darwinian forces will promote mutations that increase fitness and eliminate those that do not. Thus, cancer cells will typically have a mutational burden similar to adjacent normal cells and many (perhaps most) mutations observed in cancer cells occurred prior to somatic evolution and may not contribute to the cell's malignant phenotype. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Evolutionary principles - heterogeneity in cancer?, edited by Dr. Robert A. Gatenby.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Gatenby
- Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
| | - Joel Brown
- Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA
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Doebeli M, Ispolatov Y, Simon B. Towards a mechanistic foundation of evolutionary theory. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28198700 PMCID: PMC5333952 DOI: 10.7554/elife.23804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Most evolutionary thinking is based on the notion of fitness and related ideas such as fitness landscapes and evolutionary optima. Nevertheless, it is often unclear what fitness actually is, and its meaning often depends on the context. Here we argue that fitness should not be a basal ingredient in verbal or mathematical descriptions of evolution. Instead, we propose that evolutionary birth-death processes, in which individuals give birth and die at ever-changing rates, should be the basis of evolutionary theory, because such processes capture the fundamental events that generate evolutionary dynamics. In evolutionary birth-death processes, fitness is at best a derived quantity, and owing to the potential complexity of such processes, there is no guarantee that there is a simple scalar, such as fitness, that would describe long-term evolutionary outcomes. We discuss how evolutionary birth-death processes can provide useful perspectives on a number of central issues in evolution. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23804.001
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Doebeli
- Department of Zoology and Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Yaroslav Ispolatov
- Departamento de Fisica, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Burt Simon
- Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Colorado, Denver, United States
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Barrett SCH. Proceedings B
2016: the year in review. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:rspb.2016.2633. [DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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