Microbes are savvy when contributing to the common good

Microbes vary their contribution to a community to maximise the return on their investment according to a new study led by UCL and the University of Bath. Scientists made the discovery while investigating one of the fundamental questions in biology - why individuals have evolved to cooperate rather than simply exploiting the contributions of their rivals. The study, published in PNAS , found that when microbes are in groups mostly made up of their relatives, they contribute heavily to cooperation, which benefits the group. In contrast, when they are in a group outnumbered by unrelated individuals, they exploit the contributions of the others. Author Professor Chris Thompson, (UCL Centre for Life's Origin and Evolution and UCL Division of Biosciences), explained: "This research throws new light on the evolution and maintenance of cooperation. Cooperation is fundamental to the success of most organisms on the planet, from microbes to humans. However, understanding why cheaters do not invade and collapse cooperative systems still remains a puzzle." The team studied the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum or slime mould.