Matthew D. Herron (editor) - The Evolution of Multicellularity (Evolutionary Cell Biology)

Series Editors

Brian K. Hall Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Sally A. Moody George Washington University, Washington DC, USA

Editorial Board

Michael Hadfield University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA

Kim Cooper University of California, San Diego, USA

Mark Martindale University of Florida, Gainesville, USA

David M. Gardiner University of California, Irvine, USA

Shigeru Kuratani Kobe University, Japan

Nori Satoh Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Sally Leys University of Alberta, Canada

Science publisher

Charles R. Crumly CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group

Published Titles

Evolutionary Cell Processes in Primates: Bones, Brains, and Muscle, Volume I

Edited by M. Kathleen Pitirri and Joan T. Richtsmeier

Evolutionary Cell Processes in Primates: Genes, Skin, Energetics, Breathing, and Feeding, Volume II

Edited by M. Kathleen Pitirri and Joan T. Richtsmeier

The Notochord: Development, Evolution and contributions to the vertebral column

Eckhard P. Witten and Brian K. Hall

Evolution of Neurosensory Cells and Systems: Gene regulation and cellular networks and processes

Edited by Bernd Fritzsch and Karen L. E. Thompson

The Evolution of Multicellularity

Edited by Matthew D. Herron, Peter L. Conlin, and William C. Ratcliff

For more information about this series, please visit: www.crcpress.com/Evolutionary-Cell-Biology/book-series/CRCEVOCELBIO

Edited by

Matthew D. Herron, Peter L. Conlin and William C. Ratcliff

COVER ART by Pedro Mrquez-Zacaras

This is a piece of generative art that combines deterministic and stochastic processes of growth. The network component represents the growth of a Wolfram Physics model, in which simple substitution rules make a system develop into an intricate network of causal dependencies. The cell cluster was generated with a self-avoiding random walk, where each cell can stochastically become one of two phenotypes. This piece represents the interplay between constraints, contingency, and symmetry breaking that produce the unity and diversity of multicellular organisms.

First edition published 2022

by CRC Press

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2022 selection and editorial matter, Matthew D. Herron, Peter L. Conlin, and William C. Ratcliff; individual chapters, the contributor

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

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ISBN: 9780367356965 (hbk)

ISBN: 9781032207797 (pbk)

ISBN: 9780429351907 (ebk)

DOI: 10.1201/9780429351907

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1. Matthew D. Herron, Peter L. Conlin, and William C. Ratcliff

2. Maureen A. OMalley

3. Richard E. Michod

4. Merlijn Staps, Jordi van Gestel, and Corina E. Tarnita

5. Pauline Schaap

6. Marco La Fortezza, Kaitlin A. Schaal, and Gregory J. Velicer

7. Israt Jahan, Tyler Larsen, Joan E. Strassmann, and David C. Queller

8. Cathleen Broersma and Elizabeth A. Ostrowski

9. Michelle M. Leger and Iaki Ruiz-Trillo

10. Stefania E. Kapsetaki and Roberta M. Fisher

11. Aurora M. Nedelcu and Alexander N. May

12. Guilhem Doulcier, Katrin Hammerschmidt, and Pierrick Bourrat

13. Thibaut Brunet and Nicole King

14. Lszl G. Nagy

15. Susana M. Coelho and J. Mark Cock

16. Liam N. Briginshaw and John L. Bowman

17. Rebecka Andersson, Hanna Isaksson, and Eric Libby

18. William C. Ratcliff, Peter L. Conlin, and Matthew D. Herron

Multicellularity. On the face of it, the concept seems simple and unambiguous: some organisms package everything needed for metabolism, behavior, locomotion and reproduction into a single cell, whereas others contain multiple cells, commonly with varying functions. This is true enough, but it fails to account for the remarkable variety of multicellular organisms, or the nuances of their origins, development, and function. Accordingly, biologists commonly preface multicellularity with adjectives that acknowledge various axes of diversity. Multicellular organisms can be aggregative or clonal, emphasizing a fundamental distinction in life cycle. They may be obligate or facultative, changing in response to environmental signals. Or they may be viewed as simple or complex, with complexity variously defined by three-dimensionality, number of cell types, size, or function.

Thinking about this a decade ago, I threw my lot in with function, albeit an aspect of function that correlates with size, three-dimensionality and the differentiation of distinct cell types. As multicellular organisms begin to develop in three dimensions, cells in the interior of the organism become progressively distanced from the ambient environment their source of food, oxygen and external molecular signals. With increasing size come expanding opportunities for feeding, defense, and environmental occupation, but also a greater need for mechanisms beyond diffusion to support interior cells. For this reason, my attempt to define complex multicellularity focused on the presence of tissues or organs that circumvent the limitations of diffusion. That works pretty well for bilaterian animals, plants, kelps and macroscopic fungi, but, admittedly, presents problems for florideophyte red algae, which pass tests for three-dimensionality, macroscopic size and cell differentiation with flying colors, but fare less well in terms of diffusion and its circumvention.