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 Concept Videos

Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation02:36

Cells Coordinate Growth and Proliferation

4.5K
Cell size is a significant factor impacting cellular design, function, and fitness. There exists some internal coordination by which cells double their masses before division, thus, achieving homeostasis. Coordination between cell growth and proliferation depends on the checkpoints in between cell cycle phases. Loss of coordination or failure in the checkpoint mechanism can drive the cell to uncontrolled growth and loss of cellular function. Like dividing cells that coordinate cellular growth,...
4.5K
Yeast Signaling01:28

Yeast Signaling

14.6K
Yeasts are single-celled organisms, but unlike bacteria, they are eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Cell signaling in yeast is similar to signaling in other eukaryotic cells. A ligand, such as a protein or a small molecule released from a yeast cell, attaches to a receptor on the cell surface. The binding stimulates second-messenger kinases to activate or inactivate transcription factors that further regulate gene expression. Many of the yeast intracellular signaling cascades have similar...
14.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Cell division timing shapes the morphology and size of nascent multicellular organisms.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

The fitness costs of reproductive specialization scale inversely with organismal size.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

The limits of information in precise regulation of early multicellular life cycles.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Modulating AP-1 enables CAR T cells to establish an intratumoral stemlike reservoir and overcomes resistance to PD-1 blockade.

Science immunology·2026
Same author

Phase separation and coexistence in spatial coordination games between microbes.

Physical review. E·2026
Same author

Priority effects inhibit the repeated evolution of phototrophy.

Npj complexity·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Exponential Growth Kinetics in Batch Culture to Analyze Respiratory and Fermentative Metabolism
07:38

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Exponential Growth Kinetics in Batch Culture to Analyze Respiratory and Fermentative Metabolism

Published on: September 30, 2018

42.0K

Metabolically-driven flows enable exponential growth in macroscopic multicellular yeast.

Nishant Narayanasamy1, Emma Bingham2,3, Tanner Fadero4

  • 1Simons Centre for the Study of Living Machines, National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR), Bangalore, India.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|July 1, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Newly evolved yeast clusters use fluid flow from metabolic activity to transport nutrients, enabling exponential growth at larger sizes. This biophysical mechanism supports the evolution of multicellularity before genetic adaptations arise.

Keywords:
biophysical scaffoldingexperimental evolutionmulticellularity

More Related Videos

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology
13:19

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

Published on: October 14, 2013

30.9K
High Throughput Yeast Strain Phenotyping with Droplet-Based RNA Sequencing
07:55

High Throughput Yeast Strain Phenotyping with Droplet-Based RNA Sequencing

Published on: May 21, 2020

7.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Exponential Growth Kinetics in Batch Culture to Analyze Respiratory and Fermentative Metabolism
07:38

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Exponential Growth Kinetics in Batch Culture to Analyze Respiratory and Fermentative Metabolism

Published on: September 30, 2018

42.0K
The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology
13:19

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

Published on: October 14, 2013

30.9K
High Throughput Yeast Strain Phenotyping with Droplet-Based RNA Sequencing
07:55

High Throughput Yeast Strain Phenotyping with Droplet-Based RNA Sequencing

Published on: May 21, 2020

7.0K

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Biophysics
  • Cell biology

Background:

  • Multicellularity offers evolutionary advantages, often linked to increased organism size.
  • Large size in multicellular organisms presents challenges in nutrient transport, typically solved by specialized systems.
  • Unicellular organisms face diffusion limitations as size increases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if emergent biophysical mechanisms can facilitate nutrient transport in nascent multicellular clusters.
  • To determine if metabolic activity can drive fluid flows supporting growth in yeast clusters.
  • To explore the role of physical processes as a scaffold for multicellular evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Experimentally evolved snowflake yeast clusters were studied.
  • Metabolic activity and density gradients were analyzed for their role in fluid flow generation.
  • Nutrient transport rates and growth dynamics were measured in yeast clusters of varying sizes.
  • Observed flow speeds were compared to those generated by cilia in multicellular organisms.

Main Results:

  • Spontaneous fluid flows, driven by metabolically-generated density gradients, were observed in yeast clusters.
  • These flows effectively transported nutrients throughout the clusters, overcoming diffusion limitations.
  • Exponential growth was supported at macroscopic sizes previously thought to be limited by diffusion.
  • Flow speeds achieved were comparable to those generated by cilia in extant multicellular organisms.

Conclusions:

  • Emergent biophysical mechanisms, like metabolically driven fluid flows, can act as a 'biophysical scaffold' for multicellular evolution.
  • These physical processes enable growth at larger sizes, preceding the development of genetically encoded transport systems.
  • The co-option of conserved physical processes is a significant, yet often overlooked, factor in evolutionary innovation across biological scales.