Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

On the origin of differentiation.

J T Bonner1

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. jtbonner@princeton.edu

Journal of Biosciences
|June 12, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Organism size directly influences cell differentiation. Larger organisms tend to have more cell types, suggesting size is a critical factor in the evolution of multicellularity and cell specialization.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

A note on the rate of morphogenetic movement in the slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum.

Growth·2010
Same author

Evidence for the formation of cell aggregates by chemotaxis in the development of the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum.

The Journal of experimental zoology·2010
Same author

Migration in Dictyostelium polycephalum.

Mycologia·2006
Same author

Behavior of cellular slime molds in the soil.

Mycologia·2006
Same author

Perspective: the size-complexity rule.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2004
Same author

Interview with J. T. Bonner.

BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology·2003

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Cell biology

Background:

  • Multicellularity evolved independently in various primitive organisms.
  • Early evolution of multicellularity involved the development of multiple cell types.
  • A prevailing hypothesis links organism size to cell type diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between organism size and cell differentiation.
  • To examine this relationship in two distinct models of multicellularity: volvocine algae and cellular slime molds.
  • To determine if size is a critical factor influencing the degree of cell differentiation.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of volvocine algae and cellular slime molds.
  • Studying species with one and two cell types within these groups.
  • Correlating organism size with the number of cell types present.

Main Results:

  • A perfect correlation was found between organism size and the number of cell types.
  • Species with two cell types were significantly larger than those with one cell type.
  • Intermediate-sized organisms showed variable cell types, suggesting quorum sensing.

Conclusions:

  • Organism size plays a critical role in influencing the degree of cell differentiation.
  • This finding holds true across different evolutionary pathways to multicellularity.
  • Evidence suggests size-dependent mechanisms, potentially involving quorum sensing, regulate cell differentiation.

Related Experiment Videos