Growing evidence indicates that the mammalian microbiome can affect behaviour, and
several symbionts even produce neurotransmitters. One common explanation for these …

Since Hamilton published his seminal papers in 1964, our understanding of the importance
of cooperation for life on Earth has evolved beyond recognition. Early research was focused …

Cooperation and conflict in microorganisms is being recognized as an important factor in the
organization and function of microbial communities. Many of the cooperative behaviors …

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs a hierarchical quorum-
sensing network to regulate virulence factor production that cooperatively benefit the …

Conceptually and mechanistically, the evolution of multicellularity required the integration of
single cells into new functionally, reproductively and evolutionary stable multicellular …

Pathogenic bacteria secrete toxins and degradative enzymes that facilitate their growth by
liberating nutrients from the environment. To understand bacterial growth under nutrient …

Cooperation has been essential to the evolution of biological complexity, but many societies
struggle to overcome internal conflicts and divisions. Dictyostelium discoideum, or the social …

While different stages of mutualism can be observed in natural communities, the dynamics
and mechanisms underlying the gradual erosion of independence of the initially …

Pleiotropy has been suggested as a novel mechanism for stabilising cooperation in bacteria
and other microbes. The hypothesis is that linking cooperation with a trait that provides a …

The global stress response controlled by the alternative sigma factor RpoS protects enteric
bacteria from a variety of environmental stressors. The role of RpoS in other, nonenteric …