| Autor: |
Hammerschmidt, Katrin, Landan, Giddy, Tria, Fernando Domingues Kümmel, Dagan, Tal |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2019 |
| DOI: |
10.1101/570788 |
| Popis: |
The transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms is one of the most significant events in the history of life. Key to this process is the emergence of Darwinian individuality at the higher level: groups must become single entities capable of reproduction for selection to shape their evolution. Evolutionary transitions in individuality are characterized by cooperation between the lower level entities and by division of labor. Theory suggests that division of labor may drive the transition to multicellularity by eliminating the trade-off between two incompatible processes that cannot be performed simultaneously in one cell. Here we examine the evolution of the most ancient multicellular transition known today, that of cyanobacteria. We developed a novel approach for the precedence polarization of trade-off phenotypic traits that employs gene phylogenies and does not require a species tree. Applying our procedure to cyanobacterial genomes we reconstruct the chronology of ecological and phenotypic trait evolution in cyanobacteria. Our results show that the prime driver of multicellularity in cyanobacteria was the expansion in metabolic capacity offered by nitrogen fixation, which was accompanied by the emergence of the filamentous morphology and a reproductive life cycle. This was followed by a range of niche expansions and interactions with other species, and the progression of multicellularity into higher complexity in the form of differentiated cells and patterned multicellularity. |
| Databáze: |
OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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