[deciplex]

What about a population of 100 such plants where the defector gene is very unlikely to surface for whatever reason, and the plants are able to cooperate and that population becomes stronger for it, versus a population of 100 similar plants except the defector gene might be rather likely to show up, making the population weaker.

Couldn't the population without the defector gene, eventually outcompete and extinguish the population where it can appear?