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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Tractable Mammalian Cell Infections with Protozoan-primed Bacteria
Published on: April 2, 2013
Identifying 'prime suspects': symbioses and the evolution of multicellularity
1Pacific Biomedical Research Center, Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii, 41 Ahui Street, 96813, Honolulu, HI, USA.
Abstract:
The possible involvement of symbioses in the evolution of multicellularity is explored. Evidence is drawn principally from the biology of present day associations of plants and animals with prokaryotes. A particular emphasis is placed on future research opportunities in this area of biology that have been provided by the advent of specific molecular techniques and new model systems. With the application of new approaches that result from these advances, a more holistic understanding of the biology of the coevolved communities, composed of animals or plants and their associated prokaryotes, is within the reach of biologists over the next few decades.
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