A polychromatic ‘greenbeard’ locus determines patterns of cooperation in a social amoeba

Nicole Gruenheit, Katie Parkinson, Balint Stewart, Jennifer A. Howie, Jason B. Wolf () and Christopher R. L. Thompson ()
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Nicole Gruenheit: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester
Katie Parkinson: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester
Balint Stewart: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester
Jennifer A. Howie: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester
Jason B. Wolf: University of Bath
Christopher R. L. Thompson: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Cheaters disrupt cooperation by reaping the benefits without paying their fair share of associated costs. Cheater impact can be diminished if cooperators display a tag (‘greenbeard’) and recognise and preferentially direct cooperation towards other tag carriers. Despite its popular appeal, the feasibility of such greenbeards has been questioned because the complex patterns of partner-specific cooperative behaviours seen in nature require greenbeards to come in different colours. Here we show that a locus (‘Tgr’) of a social amoeba represents a polychromatic greenbeard. Patterns of natural Tgr locus sequence polymorphisms predict partner-specific patterns of cooperation by underlying variation in partner-specific protein–protein binding strength and recognition specificity. Finally, Tgr locus polymorphisms increase fitness because they help avoid potential costs of cooperating with incompatible partners. These results suggest that a polychromatic greenbeard can provide a key mechanism for the evolutionary maintenance of cooperation.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14171

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