Are Sacrificial Bacteria Altruistic Or Just Unlucky?

Courtesy ScienceDaily  Wed, 04/16/2008 - 13:00

An investigation of processes accompanying spore formation in the bacteria B. subtilis shows that chance plays a significant role in determining which of the microbes sacrifice themselves for the colony and which go on to form spores.

The results, which appear in Molecular Systems Biology, highlight the degree to which individual bacteria can deviate from population-wide norms.


 

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