The simplest integrated multicellular organism unveiled
Autor: | Hisayoshi Nozaki, Tetsuya Higashiyama, Akira Noga, Yuki Hamamura, Bradley J. S. C. Olson, Hiroko Kawai-Toyooka, Masafumi Hirono, Yoko Arakaki |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2013 |
Předmět: |
Cytoplasm
Lineage (evolution) ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species lcsh:Medicine Volvox Species Specificity Chlorophyta Basal body Gonium lcsh:Science Volvox carteri Phylogeny Tetrabaena socialis Multidisciplinary biology ved/biology Protoplasts Chlamydomonas lcsh:R biology.organism_classification Biological Evolution Cell biology Extracellular Matrix Multicellular organism Flagella lcsh:Q Research Article |
Zdroj: | PLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 12, p e81641 (2013) PLoS ONE |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
Popis: | Volvocine green algae represent the “evolutionary time machine” model lineage for studying multicellularity, because they encompass the whole range of evolutionary transition of multicellularity from unicellular Chlamydomonas to >500-celled Volvox. Multicellular volvocalean species including Gonium pectorale and Volvox carteri generally have several common morphological features to survive as integrated multicellular organisms such as “rotational asymmetry of cells” so that the cells become components of the individual and “cytoplasmic bridges between protoplasts in developing embryos” to maintain the species-specific form of the multicellular individual before secretion of new extracellular matrix (ECM). However, these morphological features have not been studied in the four-celled colonial volvocine species Tetrabaena socialis that is positioned in the most basal lineage within the colonial or multicellular volvocine greens. Here we established synchronous cultures of T. socialis and carried out immunofluorescence microscopic and ultrastructural observations to elucidate these two morphological attributes. Based on immunofluorescence microscopy, four cells of the mature T. socialis colony were identical in morphology but had rotational asymmetry in arrangement of microtubular rootlets and separation of basal bodies like G. pectorale and V. carteri. Ultrastructural observations clearly confirmed the presence of cytoplasmic bridges between protoplasts in developing embryos of T. socialis even after the formation of new flagella in each daughter protoplast within the parental ECM. Therefore, these two morphological attributes might have evolved in the common four-celled ancestor of the colonial volvocine algae and contributed to the further increase in cell number and complexity of the multicellular individuals of this model lineage. T. socialis is one of the simplest integrated multicellular organisms in which four identical cells constitute the individual. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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