Serial Endosymbiotic Theory (set): the biosemiotic update

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Biosemiotics
• Cell Biology

Background:

• The Serial Endosymbiotic Theory proposes eukaryotic cell origins through bacterial merging.
• Lynn Margulis described symbiogenesis using terms like "merging" and "fusion."
• Biosemiotics frames cell-cell interactions as rule-governed, sign-mediated communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine the scientific justification for using "language" and "communication" in biosemiotics for non-human interactions.
• To trace the historical discussion of these concepts in biosemiotics from 1920 to 1980.

Main Methods:

• Historical analysis of scientific discourse on biosemiotics and communication.
• Review of Lynn Margulis's work on the Serial Endosymbiotic Theory.
• Examination of plant communication as a case study for biosemiotic principles.

Main Results:

• The study identifies a historical debate regarding the application of communication concepts to non-human interactions.
• It highlights the limitations of purely mechanistic descriptions of symbiogenesis.
• The pragmatic turn emerged as a resolution, validating the use of communication in biosemiotics.

Conclusions:

• Biosemiotics offers a valuable framework for understanding cell and organismal interactions beyond molecular levels.
• The pragmatic turn in biosemiotics provides a robust justification for viewing non-human interactions as communication.
• Evolutionary processes, like symbiogenesis, can be understood through the lens of merging and communication.