File:Cheating strategies in D. discoideum.tif

English: A) In the absence of cheating, two genotypes that aggregate together in a 50:50 ratio will each contribute half of the resulting fruiting body’s stalk and half of its sorus. B) Fixed cheaters produce a higher spore:stalk ratio when grown clonally or in a chimera. These strategies may or may not have evolved due to the social benefits of cheating in chimeras. C) Facultative cheaters take advantage of other genotypes in a chimera by either forcing other genotypes to reduce their spore:stalk ratio (coercion) or increasing their own spore:stalk ratio (self-promotion). D) Obligate cheaters depend on the presence of other genotypes to fruit. They have been observed in experimentally evolved populations in the laboratory but do not appear to survive in nature.