Toward a New Understanding of Multicellularity
Abstract
Multicellularity is a widespread development of life on Earth and so is the use of the term. The term multicellularity is currently used to characterize a broad spectrum of cellular manifestations, from unicellular symbiotic arrangements, to colonial gatherings and organisms that undergo cell specialization. These manifestations are remarkably distinct and therefore should have different designations. Here we divide multicellularity into facultative and obligate life cycles, reflecting the divergence between organisms that adopt multicellularity if environmentally triggered and organisms that are multicellular from conception and cannot complete their life cycle without undergoing a multicellular phase. We then compare multicellularity throughout the three domains of life and identify the circumstances involving the emergence of obligate multicellularity. It is here hypothesized that obligate multicellularity results from extended cooperation between different life entities adopted as a strategy to survive prolonged low-fitness periods.
Keywords
References
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