Developmental biology. Multicellularity driven by bacteria.
Microscopic plankton called choanoflagellates have led to an uncommon insight into how multicellular organisms might have evolved. Bacteria can prompt single-celled choanoflagellates to divide into multicellular versions of themselves, biologists reported last week at the 71st annual meeting of the Society for Developmental Biology. The researchers hope the work will prompt biologists to look more closely at the role of microorganisms in the evolution of multicellularity.