Project description:The transition from unicellular to multicellular life required the acquisition of coordinated and regulated cellular behaviors, including adhesion and migration. In metazoans, this relies on cell adhesion proteins, signaling systems, and an elaborate extracellular matrix (ECM) that contributes to cell adhesion and to the milieu in which signaling interactions occur. Innovations in these pathways that enabled complex multicellularity occurred at the level of new genes, new functions for existing genes, but also at the regulatory level. Gene regulation by microRNAs expanded with the evolution of multicellularity, but the functions of individual microRNAs in this context are largely unexplored. A single microRNA, miR-100, arose in the last common eumetazoan ancestor and is widely conserved across animals. Here, we reveal the molecular function of the homolog of miR-100 in C. elegans, the miR-51 family. The miR-51 family acts in a dose dependent manner to control morphogenesis by regulating several genes involved in cell signaling, adhesion and migration, including modifiers of the ECM, specifically heparan sulfate sulfotransferases (HSTs). Specific HSTs and signaling pathway components are also predicted conserved targets of miR-100 across vertebrates. Our work suggests that this miRNA provided an innovation in the regulation of cellular interactions early in metazoan evolution, as animals evolved to form more complex bodies.
Project description:The transition from unicellular to multicellular life required the acquisition of coordinated and regulated cellular behaviors, including adhesion and migration. In metazoans, this relies on cell adhesion proteins, signaling systems, and an elaborate extracellular matrix (ECM) that contributes to cell adhesion and to the milieu in which signaling interactions occur. Innovations in these pathways that enabled complex multicellularity occurred at the level of new genes, new functions for existing genes, but also at the regulatory level. Gene regulation by microRNAs expanded with the evolution of multicellularity, but the functions of individual microRNAs in this context are largely unexplored. A single microRNA, miR-100, arose in the last common eumetazoan ancestor and is widely conserved across animals. Here, we reveal the molecular function of the homolog of miR-100 in C. elegans, the miR-51 family. The miR-51 family acts in a dose dependent manner to control morphogenesis by regulating several genes involved in cell signaling, adhesion and migration, including modifiers of the ECM, specifically heparan sulfate sulfotransferases (HSTs). Specific HSTs and signaling pathway components are also predicted conserved targets of miR-100 across vertebrates. Our work suggests that this miRNA provided an innovation in the regulation of cellular interactions early in metazoan evolution, as animals evolved to form more complex bodies.
2025-07-10 | GSE289436 | GEO
Project description:Experimental evolution of multicellularity
Project description:The evolution of complex multicellularity has been one of the major transitions in the history of life. In contrast to simple multicellular aggregates of cells, it has evolved only in a handful of lineages, including the animals, embryophytes, red and brown algae and fungi. Despite being a key step towards the evolution of complex organisms, the evolutionary origins and the genetic underpinnings of complex multicellularity are incompletely known. We constructed a reference atlas of mushroom formation based on developmental transcriptome data of six species and comparisons of >200 whole genomes, to elucidate the core genetic program of complex multicellularity and fruiting body development in mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes). Nearly 300 conserved gene families and >70 functional groups contained developmentally regulated genes from five to six species, covering functions related to fungal cell wall (FCW) remodeling, targeted protein degradation, signal transduction, adhesion and small secreted proteins (including effector-like orphan genes). Several of these families, including F-box proteins, expansin-like proteins, protein kinases, and transcription factors, showed expansions in Agaricomycetes, with from which many convergently expandedwere identified in multicellular plants and/or animals too, assuming convergent solutions to genetic hurdles imposed by complex multicellularity among independently evolved lineages. This study provides a novel entry point to studying mushroom development and complex multicellularity in one of the largest clades of complex eukaryotic organisms.
Project description:The evolution of complex multicellularity has been one of the major transitions in the history of life. In contrast to simple multicellular aggregates of cells, it has evolved only in a handful of lineages, including the animals, embryophytes, red and brown algae and fungi. Despite being a key step towards the evolution of complex organisms, the evolutionary origins and the genetic underpinnings of complex multicellularity are incompletely known. We constructed a reference atlas of mushroom formation based on developmental transcriptome data of six species and comparisons of >200 whole genomes, to elucidate the core genetic program of complex multicellularity and fruiting body development in mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes). Nearly 300 conserved gene families and >70 functional groups contained developmentally regulated genes from five to six species, covering functions related to fungal cell wall (FCW) remodeling, targeted protein degradation, signal transduction, adhesion and small secreted proteins (including effector-like orphan genes). Several of these families, including F-box proteins, expansin-like proteins, protein kinases, and transcription factors, showed expansions in Agaricomycetes, with from which many convergently expandedwere identified in multicellular plants and/or animals too, assuming convergent solutions to genetic hurdles imposed by complex multicellularity among independently evolved lineages. This study provides a novel entry point to studying mushroom development and complex multicellularity in one of the largest clades of complex eukaryotic organisms.
Project description:The evolution of complex multicellularity has been one of the major transitions in the history of life. In contrast to simple multicellular aggregates of cells, it has evolved only in a handful of lineages, including the animals, embryophytes, red and brown algae and fungi. Despite being a key step towards the evolution of complex organisms, the evolutionary origins and the genetic underpinnings of complex multicellularity are incompletely known. We constructed a reference atlas of mushroom formation based on developmental transcriptome data of six species and comparisons of >200 whole genomes, to elucidate the core genetic program of complex multicellularity and fruiting body development in mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes). Nearly 300 conserved gene families and >70 functional groups contained developmentally regulated genes from five to six species, covering functions related to fungal cell wall (FCW) remodeling, targeted protein degradation, signal transduction, adhesion and small secreted proteins (including effector-like orphan genes). Several of these families, including F-box proteins, expansin-like proteins, protein kinases, and transcription factors, showed expansions in Agaricomycetes, with from which many convergently expandedwere identified in multicellular plants and/or animals too, assuming convergent solutions to genetic hurdles imposed by complex multicellularity among independently evolved lineages. This study provides a novel entry point to studying mushroom development and complex multicellularity in one of the largest clades of complex eukaryotic organisms.
Project description:The evolution of complex multicellularity has been one of the major transitions in the history of life. In contrast to simple multicellular aggregates of cells, it has evolved only in a handful of lineages, including the animals, embryophytes, red and brown algae and fungi. Despite being a key step towards the evolution of complex organisms, the evolutionary origins and the genetic underpinnings of complex multicellularity are incompletely known. We constructed a reference atlas of mushroom formation based on developmental transcriptome data of six species and comparisons of >200 whole genomes, to elucidate the core genetic program of complex multicellularity and fruiting body development in mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes). Nearly 300 conserved gene families and >70 functional groups contained developmentally regulated genes from five to six species, covering functions related to fungal cell wall (FCW) remodeling, targeted protein degradation, signal transduction, adhesion and small secreted proteins (including effector-like orphan genes). Several of these families, including F-box proteins, expansin-like proteins, protein kinases, and transcription factors, showed expansions in Agaricomycetes, with from which many convergently expandedwere identified in multicellular plants and/or animals too, assuming convergent solutions to genetic hurdles imposed by complex multicellularity among independently evolved lineages. This study provides a novel entry point to studying mushroom development and complex multicellularity in one of the largest clades of complex eukaryotic organisms.
Project description:The evolution of complex multicellularity has been one of the major transitions in the history of life. In contrast to simple multicellular aggregates of cells, it has evolved only in a handful of lineages, including the animals, embryophytes, red and brown algae and fungi. Despite being a key step towards the evolution of complex organisms, the evolutionary origins and the genetic underpinnings of complex multicellularity are incompletely known. We constructed a reference atlas of mushroom formation based on developmental transcriptome data of six species and comparisons of >200 whole genomes, to elucidate the core genetic program of complex multicellularity and fruiting body development in mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes). Nearly 300 conserved gene families and >70 functional groups contained developmentally regulated genes from five to six species, covering functions related to fungal cell wall (FCW) remodeling, targeted protein degradation, signal transduction, adhesion and small secreted proteins (including effector-like orphan genes). Several of these families, including F-box proteins, expansin-like proteins, protein kinases, and transcription factors, showed expansions in Agaricomycetes, with from which many convergently expandedwere identified in multicellular plants and/or animals too, assuming convergent solutions to genetic hurdles imposed by complex multicellularity among independently evolved lineages. This study provides a novel entry point to studying mushroom development and complex multicellularity in one of the largest clades of complex eukaryotic organisms.
2019-03-16 | GSE125184 | GEO
Project description:Experimental evolution of bacterial multicellularity