Interplay of mesoscale physics and agent-like behaviors in the parallel evolution of aggregative multicellularity

作者：Juan A. Arias Del Angel, Vidyanand Nanjundiah, Mariana Benítez, Stuart A. Newman · 发表于：EvoDevo · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1186/s13227-020-00165-8 · 被引用次数：38 · 研究领域：Slime Mold and Myxomycetes Research、Biocrusts and Microbial Ecology、Protist diversity and phylogeny

Abstract Myxobacteria and dictyostelids are prokaryotic and eukaryotic multicellular lineages, respectively, that after nutrient depletion aggregate and develop into structures called fruiting bodies. The developmental processes and resulting morphological outcomes resemble one another to a remarkable extent despite their independent origins, the evolutionary distance between them and the lack of traceable homology in molecular mechanisms. We hypothesize that the morphological parallelism between the two lineages arises as the consequence of the interplay within multicellular aggregates between generic processes , physical and physicochemical processes operating similarly in living and non-living matter at the mesoscale (~10 –3 –10 –1 m) and agent-like behaviors , unique to living systems and characteristic of the constituent cells, considered as autonomous entities acting according to internal rules in a shared environment. Here, we analyze the contributions of generic and agent-like determinants in myxobacteria and dictyostelid development and their roles in the generation of their common traits. Consequent to aggregation, collective cell–cell contacts mediate the emergence of liquid-like properties, making nascent multicellular masses subject to novel patterning and morphogenetic processes. In both lineages, this leads to behaviors such as streaming, rippling, and rounding-up, as seen in non-living fluids. Later the aggregates solidify, leading them to exhibit additional g...