ALLELOPATHY AS AN EMERGENT, EXPLOITABLE PUBLIC GOOD IN THE BLOOM-FORMING MICROALGAPRYMNESIUM PARVUM

Many microbes cooperatively secrete extracellular products that favorably modify their environment. Consistent with social evolution theory, structured habitats play a role in maintaining these traits in microbial model systems, by localizing the benefits and separating strains that invest in these products from ‘cheater’ strains that benefit without paying the cost. It is thus surprising that many unicellular, well‐mixed microalgal populations...