Rémi Tuffet @remituffet.bsky.social · 31/08/2026By unifying these two perspectives on the maintenance of diversity, we demonstrate how the eco-evolutionary assembly of plasmids leads to the emergence of three functionally distinct plasmid clusters, associated with simulated abundance distribution that accurately fits the observed one. 100
Rémi Tuffet @remituffet.bsky.social · 31/08/2026On the other hand, even in the absence of trait differences, demographic and environmental stochasticity allow for the sustainable maintenance of the simulated plasmid diversity, which accurately fits the observed diversity, provided that dispersion and innovation are taken into account. 100
Rémi Tuffet @remituffet.bsky.social · 31/08/2026We propose an eco-evolutionary mathematical model of competition among plasmids in a bacterial (meta-)population to explore the mechanisms that may explain the maintenance of this diversity. On the one hand, differences in traits associated with environmental fluctuations allow plasmids to coexist. 100
Rémi Tuffet @remituffet.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Plasmid assemblages, like many macro-organism communities, display striking diversity. This raises a question that has occupied ecologists for decades: How can so many plasmids coexist despite competing with each other? 100