Table 1. Definition of terms used in this paper.
Cooperative trait | A trait that confers benefits to a recipient individual. The cooperative trait can be costly to the actor (altruistic trait) or beneficial to the actor (mutualism) (West et al, 2006) |
Cooperator | An individual or a strain carrying the cooperative trait, also called the ‘actor’ |
Defector | An individual or a strain lacking a cooperative trait but capable of exploiting the cooperation of others |
Metabolic prudence | A mechanism of gene expression regulation that allows wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa to produce biosurfactants at no cost to its fitness (Xavier et al, 2011) |
Selfishness | A defector strategy where individuals lack a costly cooperative trait but exploit the cooperation of others |