Embryonic development even before the evolution of animals
Published: Wednesday, Nov 6th 2024, 19:40
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Cell division similar to that of an animal embryo has been observed in a prehistoric unicellular organism. This discovery by researchers in Geneva, which was published in the journal "Nature", suggests that embryonic development may have existed before the evolution of animals.
The first life forms to appear on Earth were unicellular. This means that they consisted of a single cell, such as yeast or bacteria. Animals - multicellular organisms - developed later. They developed from a single cell, the egg cell, into complex living beings.
This embryonic development follows certain steps that are remarkably similar in animal species and could date back to a period long before the emergence of animals. However, the transition from unicellular species to multicellular organisms is still largely unexplained, as the University of Geneva announced in a press release on Wednesday.
The researchers have been studying Chromosphaera perkinsii (C. perkinsii). This unicellular organism separated from the animal evolutionary lineage over a billion years ago and offers valuable insights into the mechanisms that may have led to the transition to multicellularity.
Colonies resemble embryonic development
When observing C. perkinsii, the research team discovered that these cells divide as soon as they have reached their maximum size without continuing to grow. They also form multicellular colonies that resemble the early stages of animal embryonic development. The colonies survive for about a third of their life cycle and comprise at least two different cell types.
It turns out that multicellular coordination and differentiation processes were already present in this single-celled organism long before the first animals appeared on Earth. The way in which the cells divide and their three-dimensional structure are reminiscent of early stages of embryonic development in animals. This suggests that the genetic programs that control complex multicellular development were already present over a billion years ago.
©Keystone/SDA
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