Olgui/microbiology

Tight-knit family: Even microbes favor their own kin
Single-celled microbes close ranks with relatives in times of need

From the page: "even the simplest of social creatures - single-celled amoebae - have the ability not only to recognize their own family members but also to selectively discriminate in favor of them.

The study provides further proof of the surprisingly sophisticated social behavior of microbes, which have been shown to exhibit levels of cooperation more typically associated with animals.

"By recognizing kin, a social microbe can direct altruistic behavior towards its relatives," said postdoctoral researcher Natasha Mehdiabadi, the lead author of the study."

Image: The new study is based on an examination of single-celled Dictyostelium purpureum, a common soil microbe that feeds on bacteria. Credit: Owen Gilbert/Rice University