Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability
The major transitions in evolution include events and processes that result in the emergence of new levels of biological individuality. For collectives to undergo Darwinian evolution, their traits must be heritable, but the emergence of higher-level heritability is poorly understood and has long bee...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Genes |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/8/1635 |
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| author | Seyed Alireza Zamani-Dahaj Anthony Burnetti Thomas C. Day Peter J. Yunker William C. Ratcliff Matthew D. Herron |
| author_facet | Seyed Alireza Zamani-Dahaj Anthony Burnetti Thomas C. Day Peter J. Yunker William C. Ratcliff Matthew D. Herron |
| author_sort | Seyed Alireza Zamani-Dahaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The major transitions in evolution include events and processes that result in the emergence of new levels of biological individuality. For collectives to undergo Darwinian evolution, their traits must be heritable, but the emergence of higher-level heritability is poorly understood and has long been considered a stumbling block for nascent evolutionary transitions. Using analytical models, synthetic biology, and biologically-informed simulations, we explored the emergence of trait heritability during the evolution of multicellularity. Prior work on the evolution of multicellularity has asserted that substantial collective-level trait heritability either emerges only late in the transition or requires some evolutionary change subsequent to the formation of clonal multicellular groups. In a prior analytical model, we showed that collective-level heritability not only exists but is usually more heritable than the underlying cell-level trait upon which it is based, as soon as multicellular groups form. Here, we show that key assumptions and predictions of that model are borne out in a real engineered biological system, with important implications for the emergence of collective-level heritability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:54:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-54039bae4eaa4f76a3bf0c0c2ff9f952 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:54:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genes |
| spelling | doaj.art-54039bae4eaa4f76a3bf0c0c2ff9f9522023-11-19T01:16:19ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252023-08-01148163510.3390/genes14081635Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular HeritabilitySeyed Alireza Zamani-Dahaj0Anthony Burnetti1Thomas C. Day2Peter J. Yunker3William C. Ratcliff4Matthew D. Herron5Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAGeorgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAGeorgia Institute of Technology, School of Physics, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAGeorgia Institute of Technology, School of Physics, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAGeorgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAGeorgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Atlanta, GA 30332, USAThe major transitions in evolution include events and processes that result in the emergence of new levels of biological individuality. For collectives to undergo Darwinian evolution, their traits must be heritable, but the emergence of higher-level heritability is poorly understood and has long been considered a stumbling block for nascent evolutionary transitions. Using analytical models, synthetic biology, and biologically-informed simulations, we explored the emergence of trait heritability during the evolution of multicellularity. Prior work on the evolution of multicellularity has asserted that substantial collective-level trait heritability either emerges only late in the transition or requires some evolutionary change subsequent to the formation of clonal multicellular groups. In a prior analytical model, we showed that collective-level heritability not only exists but is usually more heritable than the underlying cell-level trait upon which it is based, as soon as multicellular groups form. Here, we show that key assumptions and predictions of that model are borne out in a real engineered biological system, with important implications for the emergence of collective-level heritability.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/8/1635major evolutionary transitionsheritabilityevolvabilityMLS2Darwinian individualityevolutionary transitions in individuality |
| spellingShingle | Seyed Alireza Zamani-Dahaj Anthony Burnetti Thomas C. Day Peter J. Yunker William C. Ratcliff Matthew D. Herron Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability Genes major evolutionary transitions heritability evolvability MLS2 Darwinian individuality evolutionary transitions in individuality |
| title | Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability |
| title_full | Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability |
| title_fullStr | Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability |
| title_short | Spontaneous Emergence of Multicellular Heritability |
| title_sort | spontaneous emergence of multicellular heritability |
| topic | major evolutionary transitions heritability evolvability MLS2 Darwinian individuality evolutionary transitions in individuality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/14/8/1635 |
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