In cooperative bacterial communities, cheaters may arise. These bacteria do not pay the cost of producing public goods but still consume the shareable resources produced by other cooperative bacteria.

          Infographic showing how bacterial cheaters benefit from cooperators in bacterial communities
© Ashleigh Campsall

Strategies used by cooperators to curb the cheater population in a bacterial community

     Infographic showing strategies used by cooperators to curb the cheater population in a bacterial community
© Ashleigh Campsall


Spatial structuring and kin selection

As cooperators build biofilms, they keep their kin close and limit cheaters’ access to communal resources.

Kin discrimination

Cooperators discriminate kin from non-kin and share resources only with highly related cells.

Policing

Cooperating bacteria can sanction cheaters by producing diffusible toxins together with a resource.

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