A simple model and rules for the evolution of microbial mutualistic symbiosis with positive fitness feedbacks

The evolution of microbe–microbe mutualistic symbiosis is considered to be promoted by repeated exchanges of fitness benefits, which can generate positive fitness feedbacks (‘partner fidelity feedback’) between species. However, previous evolutionary models for mutualism have not captured feedback dynamics or coupling of fitness between species. Here, a simple population model is developed to understand the evolution of mutualistic symbiosis in which two microbial species (host and symbiont) continuously grow and exchange fitness benefits to generate feedback dynamics but do not strictly control each other. The assumption that individual microbes provide constant amounts of resources, which are equally divided among interacting partner individual, enables us to reveal a simple rule for the evolution of costly mutualism with positive fitness feedbacks: the product of the benefit-to-cost ratios for each species exceeds one. When this condition holds, high cooperative investment levels are favored in both species regardless of the amount invested by each partner. The model is then extended to examine how symbiont mutation, immigration, or switching affects the spread of selfish or cooperative symbionts, which decrease and increase their investment levels, respectively. In particular, when a host associates with numerous symbionts without enforcement, neither mutation nor immigration but rather random switching would allow the spread of cooperative symbionts. Examples using symbiont switching for evolution would include large ciliates hosting numerous intracellular endosymbionts. The simple model and rules would provide a basis for understanding the evolution of microbe–microbe mutualistic symbiosis with positive fitness feedbacks and without enforcement mechanisms.