The earliest evolution of the animals remains a taxing biological problem, as all extant
clades are highly derived and the fossil record is not usually considered to be helpful. The …

Comparisons among a variety of eukaryotes have revealed considerable variability in the
structures and processes involved in their meiosis. Nevertheless, conventional forms of …

Sexual reproduction and clonality in eukaryotes are mostly seen as exclusive, the latter
being rather exceptional. This view might be biased by focusing almost exclusively on …

Choanoflagellates have three distinctive claims to fame: they are the closest, living,
unicellular relatives of animals; they are a major component of aquatic microbial foodwebs; …

Nearly all animals reproduce sexually through the production and fusion of sperm and egg
cells, yet little is known about the ancestry of animal sexual reproduction. Moreover, the …

Here a wide distribution of meiotic machinery is shown, indicating the occurrence of sexual
processes in all major eukaryotic groups, without exceptions, including the putative …

Choanoflagellates are the closest single-celled relatives of animals and provide fascinating
insights into developmental processes in animals. Two species, the choanoflagellates …

Background Sexual reproduction is an obligate phase in the life cycle of most eukaryotes.
Meiosis varies among organisms, which is reflected by the variability of the gene set …

Highlights•Cues from environmental bacteria influence the development of many marine
eukaryotes.•The molecular cues produced by environmental bacteria are structurally …

The choanoflagellates (Choanoflagellatea) comprise a major group of nanoflagellates,
which are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. Recent molecular phylogenies have …