On the structure of an evolutionary transition: dependence and cohesion in incipient endosymbioses

Abstract

Eukaryogenesis is the prototypical example of an egalitarian evolutionary transition in individuality, and endosymbiosis, more generally, is central to the origins of many complex biological systems. Why do only some symbioses undergo such a transition, and how does the host-symbiont relationship change during this process? Here, we characterise endosymbiosis by two emergent collective-level properties: host and symbiont survival as a collective ("mutual dependence") and the level of synchronised reproduction ("reproductive cohesion"). Using adaptive dynamics, we study the evolution of the traits underlying these properties. First, by adding a carrying capacity for the collective population - a realism omitted in previous models - we find novel reasons why complete dependence or cohesion might not evolve, thus providing further theoretical support for the rarity of transitions in individuality. Second, our model suggests that asymmetries in evolutionary outcomes of hosts and symbionts can be explained by a difference in their population growth parameters, coupled with their shared fate when in a collective. Lastly, we show that during the early stages of an endosymbiosis, even if investments in dependence and cohesion are uncorrelated, mutual dependence arises faster than reproductive cohesion. Our results hence shed light on three aspects of endosymbiosis: coevolution between the host and symbiont, coevolution between dependence and cohesion, and ultimately on the opportunity of undergoing an evolutionary transition. Connecting to ecological factors, this work uncovers fundamental properties of endosymbioses, providing a clear way forward for theoretical and empirical investigations.