Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations
Bacteria produce a range of molecules that are secreted from the cell and can provide a benefit to the local population of cells. Laboratory experiments have suggested that these “public goods” molecules represent a form of cooperation, favored because they benefit closely related cells (kin selecti...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2022
|
| _version_ | 1817931417618743296 |
|---|---|
| author | Belcher, L Ghoul, M Dewar, A West, S |
| author_facet | Belcher, L Ghoul, M Dewar, A West, S |
| author_sort | Belcher, L |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Bacteria produce a range of molecules that are secreted from the cell and can provide a benefit to the local population of cells. Laboratory experiments have suggested that these “public goods” molecules represent a form of cooperation, favored because they benefit closely related cells (kin selection). However, there is a relative lack of data demonstrating kin selection for cooperation in natural populations of bacteria. We used molecular population genetics to test for signatures of kin selection at the genomic level in natural populations of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found consistent evidence from multiple traits that genes controlling putatively cooperative traits have higher polymorphism and greater divergence and are more likely to harbor deleterious mutations relative to genes controlling putatively private traits, which are expressed at similar rates. These patterns suggest that cooperative traits are controlled by kin selection, and we estimate that the relatedness for social interactions in P. aeruginosa is r = 0.84. More generally, our results demonstrate how molecular population genetics can be used to study the evolution of cooperation in natural populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T07:05:47Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:19fdff70-c88c-4f6d-953a-38d3d4da8e4d |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-09T03:21:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:19fdff70-c88c-4f6d-953a-38d3d4da8e4d2024-11-21T06:35:03ZKin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populationsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:19fdff70-c88c-4f6d-953a-38d3d4da8e4dEnglishSymplectic ElementsNational Academy of Sciences2022Belcher, LGhoul, MDewar, AWest, SBacteria produce a range of molecules that are secreted from the cell and can provide a benefit to the local population of cells. Laboratory experiments have suggested that these “public goods” molecules represent a form of cooperation, favored because they benefit closely related cells (kin selection). However, there is a relative lack of data demonstrating kin selection for cooperation in natural populations of bacteria. We used molecular population genetics to test for signatures of kin selection at the genomic level in natural populations of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We found consistent evidence from multiple traits that genes controlling putatively cooperative traits have higher polymorphism and greater divergence and are more likely to harbor deleterious mutations relative to genes controlling putatively private traits, which are expressed at similar rates. These patterns suggest that cooperative traits are controlled by kin selection, and we estimate that the relatedness for social interactions in P. aeruginosa is r = 0.84. More generally, our results demonstrate how molecular population genetics can be used to study the evolution of cooperation in natural populations. |
| spellingShingle | Belcher, L Ghoul, M Dewar, A West, S Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| title | Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| title_full | Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| title_fullStr | Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| title_short | Kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| title_sort | kin selection for cooperation in natural bacterial populations |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT belcherl kinselectionforcooperationinnaturalbacterialpopulations AT ghoulm kinselectionforcooperationinnaturalbacterialpopulations AT dewara kinselectionforcooperationinnaturalbacterialpopulations AT wests kinselectionforcooperationinnaturalbacterialpopulations |