Experimental evolution reveals that high relatedness protects multicellular cooperation from cheaters

Eric Bastiaans; Alfons J. M. Debets; Duur K. Aanen

doi:10.1038/ncomms11435

Nature Communications (May 2016)

Experimental evolution reveals that high relatedness protects multicellular cooperation from cheaters

Eric Bastiaans,
Alfons J. M. Debets,
Duur K. Aanen

Affiliations

Eric Bastiaans: Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University
Alfons J. M. Debets: Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University
Duur K. Aanen: Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11435
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Maintenance of cooperation in multicellular organisms is hypothesized to depend on high relatedness among cells. Here, Bastiaans et al. provide empirical support for this hypothesis by directly comparing the evolutionary stability of multicellular cooperation in experimental lines of a fungus kept at either high or low relatedness.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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