Cheating slime mold gets the upper hand

A  ‘cheater’ mutation (chtB) in Dictyostelium discoideum, a free living slime mould able to co-operate as social organism when food is scarce, allows the cheater strain to exploit its social partner, finds a new study. The mutation ensures that when mixed with ‘normal’ Dictyostelium  more than the fair share of cheaters become spores, dispersing to a new environment, and avoiding dying as stalk cells.

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