Greenbeard Genes: Theory and Reality

Philip G. Madgwick; Laurence J. Belcher; Jason B. Wolf

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.08.001

Greenbeard Genes: Theory and Reality

Philip G. Madgwick, Laurence J. Belcher, Jason B. Wolf

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Greenbeard genes were proposed as a cartoonish thought experiment to explain why altruism can be a selfish strategy from the perspective of genes. The likelihood of finding a real greenbeard gene in nature was thought to be remote because they were believed to require a set of improbable properties. Yet, despite this expectation, there is an ongoing explosion in claimed discoveries of greenbeard genes. Bringing together the latest theory and experimental findings, we argue that there is a need to dispose of the cartoon presentation of a greenbeard to refocus their burgeoning empirical study on the more fundamental concept that the thought experiment was designed to illustrate.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1092-1103
Number of pages	12
Journal	Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Volume	34
Issue number	12
Early online date	2 Sep 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.08.001
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2019

Keywords

altruism
cooperation
gene conflict
kin selection
social evolution

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Access to Document

10.1016/j.tree.2019.08.001

Link to publication in Scopus

Cite this

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title = "Greenbeard Genes: Theory and Reality",

abstract = "Greenbeard genes were proposed as a cartoonish thought experiment to explain why altruism can be a selfish strategy from the perspective of genes. The likelihood of finding a real greenbeard gene in nature was thought to be remote because they were believed to require a set of improbable properties. Yet, despite this expectation, there is an ongoing explosion in claimed discoveries of greenbeard genes. Bringing together the latest theory and experimental findings, we argue that there is a need to dispose of the cartoon presentation of a greenbeard to refocus their burgeoning empirical study on the more fundamental concept that the thought experiment was designed to illustrate.",

keywords = "altruism, cooperation, gene conflict, kin selection, social evolution",

author = "Madgwick, {Philip G.} and Belcher, {Laurence J.} and Wolf, {Jason B.}",

note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank David Haig and Chris Thompson for helpful discussions, as well as Andy Gardner and three anonymous referees for constructive comments. We would also like to thank our funders: South West Biosciences (SWBio; Doctoral Training Partnership grant to P.G.M.), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; grant GW4+ to L.J.B.), and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; grant BB/M01035X/1 to J.B.W.). This work was partially completed as part of a fellowship from the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin to J.B.W. (also a study visit from P.G.M.). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

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AU - Belcher, Laurence J.

AU - Wolf, Jason B.

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank David Haig and Chris Thompson for helpful discussions, as well as Andy Gardner and three anonymous referees for constructive comments. We would also like to thank our funders: South West Biosciences (SWBio; Doctoral Training Partnership grant to P.G.M.), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC; grant GW4+ to L.J.B.), and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC; grant BB/M01035X/1 to J.B.W.). This work was partially completed as part of a fellowship from the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin to J.B.W. (also a study visit from P.G.M.). Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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N2 - Greenbeard genes were proposed as a cartoonish thought experiment to explain why altruism can be a selfish strategy from the perspective of genes. The likelihood of finding a real greenbeard gene in nature was thought to be remote because they were believed to require a set of improbable properties. Yet, despite this expectation, there is an ongoing explosion in claimed discoveries of greenbeard genes. Bringing together the latest theory and experimental findings, we argue that there is a need to dispose of the cartoon presentation of a greenbeard to refocus their burgeoning empirical study on the more fundamental concept that the thought experiment was designed to illustrate.

AB - Greenbeard genes were proposed as a cartoonish thought experiment to explain why altruism can be a selfish strategy from the perspective of genes. The likelihood of finding a real greenbeard gene in nature was thought to be remote because they were believed to require a set of improbable properties. Yet, despite this expectation, there is an ongoing explosion in claimed discoveries of greenbeard genes. Bringing together the latest theory and experimental findings, we argue that there is a need to dispose of the cartoon presentation of a greenbeard to refocus their burgeoning empirical study on the more fundamental concept that the thought experiment was designed to illustrate.

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