Finally the countermeasures are not limited to organismal relationships. West et al. found a similar countermeasure against cheating in legume-rhizobium mutualism. In this relationship, nitrogen fixing bacteria rhizobium fixes atmospheric N2 from inside the roots of leguminous plants, providing this essential source of nitrogen to these plants while also receiving organic acids for themselves. However, some bacteria are more mutualistic, while others are more parasitic because they consume the plant's resources but fixes little to no N2. Moreover, these plants cannot tell whether the bacteria are more or less parasitic until they are settled in the plant nodules. To prevent cheating, these plants seem to be able to punish the rhizobium bacteria. In a series of experiments, researchers forced non-cooperation between the bacteria and the plants by placing various nodules in nitrogen-free atmosphere. They saw a decrease in the rhizobium reproductive success by 50%. West et al. created a model for legume sanctioning the bacteria and hypothesizes that these behaviors exist to stabilize mutualistic interactions.