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Unicellular-multicellular evolutionary branching driven by resource limitations.

Adriano Bonforti1,2, Ricard Solé1,2,3

  • 1ICREA-Complex Systems Lab, UPF-PRBB, Dr. Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
|June 1, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Multicellularity evolved when unicellular agents stayed together near limited resources. A minimal model shows resource size determines if multicellular aggregates or unicellularity is favored, with an intermediate zone allowing both.

Keywords:
cell adhesionevolutionary preconditionsevolutionary transitionsmulticellularitystatistical physics

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Origin of life
  • Theoretical biology

Background:

  • Multicellularity (MC) has evolved multiple times, suggesting it's a common evolutionary innovation.
  • The emergence of multicellularity offers several proposed advantages.
  • Understanding the initial steps, like cell-cell adhesion, is crucial for MC evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the 'stay together' precondition for multicellularity.
  • To model how spatially limited resources influence the transition from unicellularity (UC) to MC.
  • To identify critical factors driving the evolution of early multicellular aggregates.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a minimal model of evolved cell-cell adhesion.
  • Simulated growing and dividing unicellular agents exploiting a localized resource.
  • Analyzed the population dynamics under varying resource sizes.

Main Results:

  • A critical resource size was identified, separating UC and MC phases.
  • Below the critical size, multicellular aggregates were favored.
  • Above the critical size, unicellularity was favored, with an intermediate domain allowing selection for both.

Conclusions:

  • Localized resources are a key factor favoring multicellularity.
  • Cell-cell adhesion is a critical early step in the evolution of MC.
  • MC provides a cooperative advantage by keeping cells near limited nutrients.