ArticlePLoS computational biology2017
Fragmentation modes and the evolution of life cycles.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Direct benefits are not necessary for the evolution of multicellularity.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- A population threshold for dedicated teaching.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- The limits of information in precise regulation of early multicellular life cycles.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Evolution of irreversible differentiation under stage-dependent cell differentiation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Cell size and selection for stress-induced cell fusion in unicellular eukaryotes.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Stability of ecologically scaffolded traits during evolutionary transitions in individuality.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Alternating selection for dispersal and multicellularity favors regulated life cycles.Current biology : CB · 2023Article
- Minor variations in multicellular life cycles have major effects on adaptation.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
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- The possible modes of microbial reproduction are fundamentally restricted by distribution of mass between parent and offspring.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Evolution of reproductive strategies in incipient multicellularity.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2022Article
- Modeling host-associating microbes under selection.The ISME journal · 2021Article
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- Multilevel selection favors fragmentation modes that maintain cooperative interactions in multispecies communities.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- The Consequences of Budding versus Binary Fission on Adaptation and Aging in Primitive Multicellularity.Genes · 2021Article
- Aggregative cycles evolve as a solution to conflicts in social investment.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
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- Evolution of multicellular life cycles under costly fragmentation.PLoS computational biology · 2020Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Reproduction is a defining feature of living systems. To reproduce, aggregates of biological units (e.g., multicellular organisms or colonial bacteria) must fragment into smaller parts. Fragmentation modes in nature range from binary fission in bacteria to collective-level fragmentation and the production of unicellular propagules in multicellular organisms. Despite this apparent ubiquity, the adaptive significance of fragmentation modes has received little attention. Here, we develop a model in which groups arise from the division of single cells that do not separate but stay together until the moment of group fragmentation. We allow for all possible fragmentation patterns and calculate the population growth rate of each associated life cycle. Fragmentation modes that maximise growth rate comprise a restrictive set of patterns that include production of unicellular propagules and division into two similar size groups. Life cycles marked by single-cell bottlenecks maximise population growth rate under a wide range of conditions. This surprising result offers a new evolutionary explanation for the widespread occurrence of this mode of reproduction. All in all, our model provides a framework for exploring the adaptive significance of fragmentation modes and their associated life cycles.
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