Predation and the evolution of multicellularity
<p>The first step in the major evolutionary transition to multicellularity involves single cells forming a group. Why do cells form a group? Studies have shown that colony formation provides a benefit against predation. However, it is not well known whether this response is generic, or specifi...
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| 格式: | Thesis |
| 語言: | English |
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2015
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| _version_ | 1826285200100818944 |
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| author | Kapsetaki, S |
| author2 | West, S |
| author_facet | West, S Kapsetaki, S |
| author_sort | Kapsetaki, S |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The first step in the major evolutionary transition to multicellularity involves single cells forming a group. Why do cells form a group? Studies have shown that colony formation provides a benefit against predation. However, it is not well known whether this response is generic, or specific to certain prey-predator systems. We sought to assess this by measuring colony formation in nine 'algal-putative predator' combinations; the Chlorophyte algae <em>Chlorella vulgaris</em>, <em>Chlorella sorokiniana</em> and <em>Scenedesmus obliquus</em> as prey, and the flagellate <em>Ochromonas spp.</em>, the ciliate <em>Tetrahymena thermophila</em> and the crustacean <em>Daphnia magna</em> as putative predators. We found that colony formation is a generic response of the algae <em>C. sorokiniana</em>, <em>C. vulgaris</em> and <em>S. obliquus</em> to predation by <em>Ochromonas spp.</em>, <em>T. thermophila</em> or <em>D. magna</em>. Notably, the algae formed colonies regardless of whether the putative predator grazed upon the algae, indicating that predation by itself is not always a prerequisite for colony formation, but this response may have evolved in the algae as a defensive mechanism against potential predation. In six combinations, colonies could not be ingested by the predator, suggesting that colonies have a 'size benefit' against predation. These results outline the importance of predation as a generic factor driving colony formation and help enhance our understanding of the benefits and costs involved in colony formation, the first step in the evolution of multicellularity.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:25:17Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:91c1ad7d-c37a-4efc-b69f-b9f6b74cd849 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T01:25:17Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:91c1ad7d-c37a-4efc-b69f-b9f6b74cd8492022-03-26T23:20:50ZPredation and the evolution of multicellularityThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_bdccuuid:91c1ad7d-c37a-4efc-b69f-b9f6b74cd849BiologyEvolution (zoology)Behaviour (zoology)Zoological sciencesEcology (zoology)EnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2015Kapsetaki, SWest, S<p>The first step in the major evolutionary transition to multicellularity involves single cells forming a group. Why do cells form a group? Studies have shown that colony formation provides a benefit against predation. However, it is not well known whether this response is generic, or specific to certain prey-predator systems. We sought to assess this by measuring colony formation in nine 'algal-putative predator' combinations; the Chlorophyte algae <em>Chlorella vulgaris</em>, <em>Chlorella sorokiniana</em> and <em>Scenedesmus obliquus</em> as prey, and the flagellate <em>Ochromonas spp.</em>, the ciliate <em>Tetrahymena thermophila</em> and the crustacean <em>Daphnia magna</em> as putative predators. We found that colony formation is a generic response of the algae <em>C. sorokiniana</em>, <em>C. vulgaris</em> and <em>S. obliquus</em> to predation by <em>Ochromonas spp.</em>, <em>T. thermophila</em> or <em>D. magna</em>. Notably, the algae formed colonies regardless of whether the putative predator grazed upon the algae, indicating that predation by itself is not always a prerequisite for colony formation, but this response may have evolved in the algae as a defensive mechanism against potential predation. In six combinations, colonies could not be ingested by the predator, suggesting that colonies have a 'size benefit' against predation. These results outline the importance of predation as a generic factor driving colony formation and help enhance our understanding of the benefits and costs involved in colony formation, the first step in the evolution of multicellularity.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Biology Evolution (zoology) Behaviour (zoology) Zoological sciences Ecology (zoology) Kapsetaki, S Predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| title | Predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| title_full | Predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| title_fullStr | Predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| title_short | Predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| title_sort | predation and the evolution of multicellularity |
| topic | Biology Evolution (zoology) Behaviour (zoology) Zoological sciences Ecology (zoology) |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kapsetakis predationandtheevolutionofmulticellularity |