(Science Daily) In studying the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, … researchers found that the populations most adept at withstanding doses of antibiotics are those in which a few highly resistant isolates sacrifice their own well being to improve the group's overall chance of survival.
This bacterial altruism results when the most resistant isolates produce a small molecule called indole.
Indole acts as something of a steroid, helping the strain's more vulnerable members bulk up enough to fight off the antibiotic onslaught. But while indole may save the group, its production takes a toll on the fitness level of the individual isolates that produce it.
Community: So perhaps we can generalize that, in nature, preservation of the species (or the genes of the species) is more important than preservation of the individual organism. This research adds evidence to Richard Dawkins’ much misinterpreted “selfish gene” theory (which doesn’t give us permission to be selfish).
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