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Interests
“…what keeps competition from destroying the common good that could be created by cooperating?” Egbert Leigh
Cooperation is all around us. Genes have come together in genomes, cells work together in multicellular organisms, and animals cooperate in societies. However, cooperation represents one of the major challenges in evolutionary biology because Darwin’s theory of natural selection makes it clear that competition and selfishness are often the best strategies for success. Why then do many animals help each other? For example, why do honeybee workers work rather than lay their own eggs? And why don’t cells in a multicellular organism compete?
One important answer is that cooperation often involves relatives: the cells in your body are genetically identical so there is no conflict over the jobs that they do, or whose genes are passed on in sperm or eggs. But despite the importance of genetics, we know almost nothing of the actual genes behind cooperation. Do single genes control social behaviours? What is the role of interactions among genes? Do genetic networks evolve to make it difficult for selfish ‘cheaters’ to arise and exploit social groups?
Our lab is interested in the evolution of cooperation in all its guises and, increasingly, in the genetics and genomics of cooperative traits.
MICROBES AND THE GENETICS OF SOCIALITY
THEORY OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION
SOCIAL INSECTS
