Chemical factors induce aggregative multicellularity in a close unicellular relative of animals.

ABSTRACT: Regulated cellular aggregation is an essential process for development and healing in many animal tissues. In some animals and a few distantly related unicellular species, cellular aggregation is regulated by diffusible chemical cues. However, it is unclear whether regulated cellular aggregation was part of the life cycles of the first multicellular animals and/or their unicellular ancestors. To fill this gap, we investigated the triggers of cellular aggregation in one of animals' closest unicellular living relatives-the filasterean Capsaspora owczarzaki. We discovered that Capsaspora aggregation is induced by chemical cues, as observed in some of the earliest branching animals and other unicellular species. Specifically, we found that calcium ions and lipids present in lipop

SUBMITTER: Ros-Rocher N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10161120 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature