The origin of multicellularity in cyanobacteria.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cyanobacteria are one of the oldest and morphologically most diverse prokaryotic phyla on our planet. The early development of an oxygen-containing atmosphere approximately 2.45-2.22 billion years ago is attributed to the photosynthetic activity of cyanobacteria. Furthermore, they are one of the few prokaryotic phyla where multicellularity has evolved. Understanding when and how multicellularity evolved in these ancient organisms would provide fundamental information on the early history of life and further our knowledge of complex life forms.

Results

We conducted and compared phylogenetic analyses of 16S rDNA sequences from a large sample of taxa representing the morphological and genetic diversity of cyanobacteria. We reconstructed ancestral character states on

SUBMITTER: Schirrmeister BE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3271361 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature