David C. Queller & Joan Strassmann (WashU), Kith selection: simple theory, complicated amoebas and bacteria

David C. Queller & Joan Strassmann (Queller/Strassmann Research Group, Washington University in St. Louis, USA)

Kith selection: simple theory, complicated amoebas and bacteria

Commentator: Johannes Martens (IHPST, CNRS & Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne)

Abstract:
The evolution of cooperation is well understood when the cooperators are relatives but perhaps less so when they are unrelated. We will explore two aspects of evolutionary interactions among non-relatives, which we call kith selection. On the theoretical side, we show how these interactions can be expressed in form exactly parallel Hamilton’s rule. On the empirical side, we describe a complex “farming” symbiosis between Burkholderia bacteria and Dictyostelid amoebas.