I write to you from a small world where I sit pruning my flagellum in contemplation. When our colony size is sufficient and when environmental conditions suit, we will engage in a group motility known as ‘swarming’. Some will grow extra flagella, become highly motile, attach themselves to each other and move as one. All in order to explore the environment and colonize a more favorable patch. Despite enormous progress, some extraordinary group behaviors remain poorly described by scientists and artists alike.
No cell or organism is an island, therefore selection shapes the way that social interactions occur. Sociality is rife across the biological world. Different genes in a genome cooperate to produce the cell, several cells cooperate to perform the function of the tissue, different tissues in a body combine to the benefit of the organism, organisms group and cooperate for the greater good of populations and so on… But it is not all rosy. Wherever there is an altruism there is vulnerability to individuals which do not reciprocate, lazy or even coercive. Where altruism is visible, mechanisms to prevent exploitation have evolved. Some insect societies employ police workers. Scientists have compiled important clues to some fundamental questions in the evolution of today’s living organisms. Such as why and how did organisms become multicellular? It might be tempting to adopt an anthropomorphic view and hold the mirror up to your face. Are you, as humans subject to the same natural predicament? Is there a balance between cooperation and conflict that is inherent in our nature and the nature of all living things? Can anything be learned from the cooperation and communication observed in other organisms? As I prune my flagellum in contemplation, do you sit lazily stroking your beard, washed along by the swarm of your society?
Image Caption: Pseudomonas aeruginosa swarming on nutrient agar photographed at intervals over a period of 36 hours. This strain is genetically engineered to produce light. In a dark box with a sensitive camera it is possible to monitor it’s movements.
Words : Roman Popat
Photography : Stephan Heeb
Outstanding article, i feel humbled and in fact worthless. I thank you for this dearly kind sir. My study of the flagellum has not lead to such conclusions. Although i do appreciate a challenge.
Yours dearly.