Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a model organism for studying bacterial social behaviours and interactions. P. aeruginsa uses complex network of quorum sensing communication systems to coordinate its social behavior and controle spontaneously emerging »cheats«. Bacteria cooperate via synthesis and secretion of vareuse chemical that benefit bacterial cells other then the producer and are there for called public goods. Cooperative secretion of public goods can be exploited by social »cheats« that do not secret public goods but still reaped the benefits. Cheaters consequently have competitive advantage in comparison to cooperative wild type. To protect its cooperative behavior and compromise cheaters invasion capacity P. aeruginsa uses four different molecular mechanisms: generalized reciprocity, altruistic punishment or policing, metabolic constraint and prudent metabolism. Molecular mechanisms that stabilize cooperative secretions in P. aeruginosa contribute to greater understanding of cooperation among organisms in general and have multiple applications in biotechnology.
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