Observing bacteria through the lens of social evolution

Explaining the evolution of cooperative behavior is a long-standing problem for which much theory has been developed. A recent paper in BMC Biology tests central elements of this theory by manipulating a simple bacterial experimental system. This approach is useful for assessing the principles of social evolution, but we argue that more effort must be invested in the inverse problem: using social evolution theory to understand the lives of bacteria.

[1]  Andy Gardner,et al.  Resource supply and the evolution of public-goods cooperation in bacteria , 2008 .

[2]  A. Griffin,et al.  Cooperation and conflict in quorum-sensing bacterial populations , 2007, Nature.

[3]  J. M. Meyer,et al.  Quorum-sensing and siderophore biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: lasR/lasI mutants exhibit reduced pyoverdine biosynthesis. , 1998, FEMS microbiology letters.

[4]  J. Costerton,et al.  The involvement of cell-to-cell signals in the development of a bacterial biofilm. , 1998, Science.

[5]  E. Greenberg,et al.  Sociomicrobiology: the connections between quorum sensing and biofilms. , 2005, Trends in microbiology.

[6]  W. Hamilton.  The genetical evolution of social behaviour. II. , 1964, Journal of theoretical biology.

[7]  A. Griffin,et al.  Cooperation and competition in pathogenic bacteria , 2004, Nature.

[8]  Bonnie L Bassler,et al.  Quorum sensing controls biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae , 2003, Molecular microbiology.

[9]  A. Griffin,et al.  Social semantics : altruism , cooperation , mutualism , strong reciprocity and group selection , 2007 .

[10]  M. Surette,et al.  Communication in bacteria: an ecological and evolutionary perspective , 2006, Nature Reviews Microbiology.

[11]  A. Gardner,et al.  Cooperation Peaks at Intermediate Disturbance , 2007, Current Biology.

[12]  Paul Stoodley,et al.  Bacterial biofilms: from the Natural environment to infectious diseases , 2004, Nature Reviews Microbiology.

[13]  A. Griffin,et al.  The Social Lives of Microbes , 2007 .

[14]  M. Schuster,et al.  Social cheating in Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[15]  K. Foster,et al.  Cooperation and conflict in microbial biofilms , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[16]  W. Hamilton.  The genetical evolution of social behaviour. I. , 1964, Journal of theoretical biology.