ArticlePLoS computational biology2019
Interacting cells driving the evolution of multicellular life cycles.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evolution of irreversible differentiation under stage-dependent cell differentiation.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Minor variations in multicellular life cycles have major effects on adaptation.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Article
- 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
- Article
- Multilevel selection favors fragmentation modes that maintain cooperative interactions in multispecies communities.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- Positive interactions within and between populations decrease the likelihood of evolutionary rescue.PLoS computational biology · 2021Article
- Article
- Evolution of simple multicellular life cycles in dynamic environments.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Evolution of complex multicellular life began from the emergence of a life cycle involving the formation of cell clusters. The opportunity for cells to interact within clusters provided them with an advantage over unicellular life forms. However, what kind of interactions may lead to the evolution of multicellular life cycles? Here, we combine evolutionary game theory with a model for the emergence of multicellular groups to investigate how cell interactions can influence reproduction modes during the early stages of the evolution of multicellularity. In our model, the presence of both cell types is maintained by stochastic phenotype switching during cell division. We identify evolutionary optimal life cycles as those which maximize the population growth rate. Among all interactions captured by two-player games, the vast majority promotes two classes of life cycles: (i) splitting into unicellular propagules or (ii) fragmentation into two offspring clusters of equal (or almost equal) size. Our findings indicate that the three most important characteristics, determining whether multicellular life cycles will evolve, are the average performance of homogeneous groups, heterogeneous groups, and solitary cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.