The observation that phenotypic variability is ubiquitous in isogenic populations has led to a multitude of experimental and theoretical studies seeking to probe the causes and consequences of this variability. Whether it be in the context of antibiotic treatments or exponential growth in constant environments, non-genetic variability has significant effects on population dynamics. Here, we review research that elucidates the relationship between cell-to-cell variability and population dynamics. After summarizing the relevant experimental observations, we discuss models of bet-hedging and phenotypic switching. In the context of these models, we discuss how switching between phenotypes at the single-cell level can help populations survive in uncertain environments. Next, we review more fine-grained models of phenotypic variability where the relationship between single-cell growth rates, generation times and cell sizes is explicitly considered. Variability in these traits can have significant effects on the population dynamics, even in a constant environment. We show how these effects can be highly sensitive to the underlying model assumptions. We close by discussing a number of open questions, such as how environmental and intrinsic variability interact and what the role of non-genetic variability in evolutionary dynamics is.

表型变异在同基因种群中普遍存在的观察结果导致了大量的实验和理论研究，试图探索这种变异的原因和后果。无论是在抗生素治疗的背景下，还是在恒定环境中呈指数增长，非遗传变异对种群动态都有显着影响。在这里，我们回顾了阐明细胞间变异性和种群动态之间关系的研究。在总结了相关的实验观察之后，我们讨论了对冲和表型转换的模型。在这些模型的背景下，我们讨论了单细胞水平的表型之间的转换如何帮助种群在不确定的环境中生存。下一个，我们回顾了更细粒度的表型变异模型，其中明确考虑了单细胞生长速率、世代时间和细胞大小之间的关系。即使在恒定的环境中，这些性状的变异性也会对种群动态产生重大影响。我们展示了这些影响如何对基础模型假设高度敏感。我们最后讨论了一些开放性问题，例如环境和内在变异如何相互作用以及非遗传变异在进化动力学中的作用是什么。我们展示了这些影响如何对基础模型假设高度敏感。我们最后讨论了一些开放性问题，例如环境和内在变异如何相互作用以及非遗传变异在进化动力学中的作用是什么。我们展示了这些影响如何对基础模型假设高度敏感。我们最后讨论了一些开放性问题，例如环境和内在变异如何相互作用以及非遗传变异在进化动力学中的作用是什么。