Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria
Summary: Prosocial behavior is ubiquitous in nature despite the relative fitness costs carried by cooperative individuals. However, the stability of cooperation in populations is fragile and often maintained through enforcement. We propose that homologous recombination provides such a mechanism in b...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-08-01
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| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223014219 |
| _version_ | 1797770757070127104 |
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| author | Isaiah Paolo A. Lee Omar Tonsi Eldakar J. Peter Gogarten Cheryl P. Andam |
| author_facet | Isaiah Paolo A. Lee Omar Tonsi Eldakar J. Peter Gogarten Cheryl P. Andam |
| author_sort | Isaiah Paolo A. Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Prosocial behavior is ubiquitous in nature despite the relative fitness costs carried by cooperative individuals. However, the stability of cooperation in populations is fragile and often maintained through enforcement. We propose that homologous recombination provides such a mechanism in bacteria. Using an agent-based model of recombination in bacteria playing a public goods game, we demonstrate how changes in recombination rates affect the proportion of cooperating cells. In our model, recombination converts cells to a different strategy, either freeloading (cheaters) or cooperation, based on the strategies of neighboring cells and recombination rate. Increasing the recombination rate expands the parameter space in which cooperators outcompete freeloaders. However, increasing the recombination rate alone is neither sufficient nor necessary. Intermediate benefits of cooperation, lower population viscosity, and greater population size can promote the evolution of cooperation from within populations of cheaters. Our findings demonstrate how recombination influences the persistence of cooperative behavior in bacteria. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:27:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abfcaf71ba6e4bbe8721ad25472aedea |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:27:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-abfcaf71ba6e4bbe8721ad25472aedea2023-07-28T04:26:31ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422023-08-01268107344Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteriaIsaiah Paolo A. Lee0Omar Tonsi Eldakar1J. Peter Gogarten2Cheryl P. Andam3Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA; National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of the Philippines–Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines; Corresponding authorDepartment of Biological Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328, USADepartment of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12222, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: Prosocial behavior is ubiquitous in nature despite the relative fitness costs carried by cooperative individuals. However, the stability of cooperation in populations is fragile and often maintained through enforcement. We propose that homologous recombination provides such a mechanism in bacteria. Using an agent-based model of recombination in bacteria playing a public goods game, we demonstrate how changes in recombination rates affect the proportion of cooperating cells. In our model, recombination converts cells to a different strategy, either freeloading (cheaters) or cooperation, based on the strategies of neighboring cells and recombination rate. Increasing the recombination rate expands the parameter space in which cooperators outcompete freeloaders. However, increasing the recombination rate alone is neither sufficient nor necessary. Intermediate benefits of cooperation, lower population viscosity, and greater population size can promote the evolution of cooperation from within populations of cheaters. Our findings demonstrate how recombination influences the persistence of cooperative behavior in bacteria.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223014219Biological sciencesMicrobiologyEvolutionary biology |
| spellingShingle | Isaiah Paolo A. Lee Omar Tonsi Eldakar J. Peter Gogarten Cheryl P. Andam Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria iScience Biological sciences Microbiology Evolutionary biology |
| title | Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria |
| title_full | Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria |
| title_fullStr | Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria |
| title_short | Recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria |
| title_sort | recombination as an enforcement mechanism of prosocial behavior in cooperating bacteria |
| topic | Biological sciences Microbiology Evolutionary biology |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223014219 |
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