The study is published today in the journal Ecology Letters.
“Since the 1960s, theories have been available on how decision-making by organisms is related to their survival on one hand or to rapid growth on the other. Both are not possible simultaneously because resources are not sufficient for both. Bacteria, like humans, have limited resources and are constantly faced with decisions on how to invest in their future. Bacteria are hugely successful and have managed to colonise every part of the planet,” said Dr Ferenci.
The researchers developed a mathematical model to predict the best way for bacteria to invest resources in a trade-off between growth and stress resistance.
The researchers modelled how, like humans investing in cash, bacteria trade in costly proteins to reduce their stress levels or to increase consumption and so grow faster. Evolution is the decision making process with different choices encoded in the genes. Each bacterium makes an investment decision; the bad investors fall by the wayside, the good ones survive.
This research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Australian Research Council.