Modeling endosymbioses: Insights and hypotheses from theoretical approaches

Endosymbiotic relationships are pervasive across diverse taxa of life, offering key avenues for eco-evolutionary dynamics. Although a variety of experimental and empirical frameworks have shed light on critical aspects of endosymbiosis, theoretical frameworks (mathematical models) are especially wel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS biology 2024-04, Vol.22 (4), p.e3002583-e3002583
Main Authors: Souza, Lucas Santana, Solowiej-Wedderburn, Josephine, Bonforti, Adriano, Libby, Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Biological Evolution
Biology and Life Sciences
Earth Sciences
Endosymbiosis
Evolution
Hypotheses
Mathematical models
Mitochondria
Models, Theoretical
Plasmids
Research and Analysis Methods
Symbiosis
Virulence
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Summary:Endosymbiotic relationships are pervasive across diverse taxa of life, offering key avenues for eco-evolutionary dynamics. Although a variety of experimental and empirical frameworks have shed light on critical aspects of endosymbiosis, theoretical frameworks (mathematical models) are especially well-suited for certain tasks. Mathematical models can integrate multiple factors to determine the net outcome of endosymbiotic relationships, identify broad patterns that connect endosymbioses with other systems, simplify biological complexity, generate hypotheses for underlying mechanisms, evaluate different hypotheses, identify constraints that limit certain biological interactions, and open new lines of inquiry. This Essay highlights the utility of mathematical models in endosymbiosis research, particularly in generating relevant hypotheses. Despite their limitations, mathematical models can be used to address known unknowns and discover unknown unknowns.
ISSN:1545-7885
1544-9173
1545-7885
DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.3002583