Evolution of Multicellularity

Published on: Author: Charles Delwiche Leave a comment

Our collaborative article on the evolution of multicellularity in green algae is out today in PNAS. This is interesting because multicellular organization seems to have evolved independently but nearly simultaneously in several lineages of green algae. Combining transcriptome sequencing with molecular phylogenetics and paleobotany we determined that these events took place during the late Tonian/Cryogenian, leading to diversification in the Ordovician, seemingly because of competition in shallow marine ecosystems. It seems likely that this was in response to selective pressures that emerged during global glaciation events.

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