Social amoeba rely on genetic 'lock and key' to identify kin
Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 15:31
in Psychology & Sociology
Scientists have identified the genetic "lock and key" that enable the amoeba to tell kin from non-kin. Just as the uniforms of armies enable soldiers to differentiate foe from friend, these amoeba use the protruding proteins as a kind of flag. In this case, the flag that protruded differs among strains of the Dictyostelium. These differences are critical to the kin/non-kin discrimination.