Chimaeric load among sympatric social bacteria increases with genotype richness.

ABSTRACT: The total productivity of social groups can be determined by interactions among their constituents. Chimaeric load--the reduction of group productivity caused by antagonistic within-group heterogeneity--may be common in heterogeneous microbial groups due to dysfunctional behavioural interactions between distinct individuals. However, some instances of chimaerism in social microbes can increase group productivity, thus making a general relationship between chimaerism and group-level performance non-obvious. Using genetically similar strains of the soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus that were isolated from a single centimetre-scale patch of soil, we tested for a relationship between degree of chimaerism (genotype richness) and total group performance at social behaviours displayed by this spe

SUBMITTER: Mendes-Soares H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4071536 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature