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As a kindergarten teacher might say, sharing is caring. She might not mention that cooperation is also a great way to form a community, and thus improve everyone's chances of survival. Humans aren't the only ones to apply this strategy—marine bacteria also form cooperative populations, according to a study in the journal Science.
正如幼兒園老師所說，分享即是關愛。也許她沒提到，合作是形成社區的一種好方法，合作能提高每個人的生存機會。據《科學》雜志上一項研究報告顯示，人類并不是唯一應用這個戰略的物種——海洋細菌同樣也是合作性的種群。
Researchers examined the genomes of bacteria belonging to the Vibrionaceae family. In the lab, they grouped together bacteria with similar genetics that coexist in the same micro-habitat. The scientists expected that within any given population, individuals capable of producing antibiotics would use these chemical weapons against others. But when they looked at interactions between different strains of Vibrionaceae, they found that only a few members of any given population could produce the bacteria-killing substances, and the rest of that community was resistant to those particular compounds.
研究人員檢查了屬于弧菌科的細菌基因。在實驗室，他們將共同生活在同一微生物環境里基因相似的細菌組合成一組。科學家估計在任一群落中，能夠產生抗生素的個體會利用這種化學武器對抗其他個體。但當他們觀察到不同類型的弧菌科細菌之間的互相作用時，發現在任一群落中只有少數的成員可以分泌具有殺菌功效的物質，而剩余細菌則對這種特殊化合物有免疫作用。
But the antibiotics could fight off foreign populations, while leaving members of the home group unharmed. This arrangement implies a bacterial social structure where individuals help the group as a whole. Crayon-hoarding toddlers might want to take note.
然而，在保持自己群落成員安然無恙的同時，抗生素仍可以抵御外來細菌。這樣的組合體現了細菌的社會結構，在這里個體擔負著保衛全體成員的使命。囤積蠟筆的幼兒可要注意了。
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