Multicellularity appeared early and repeatedly in life's history; its instantiations presumably
required the confluence of environmental, ecological, and genetic factors. Comparisons of …

Multicellularity has evolved in several eukaryotic lineages leading to plants, fungi, and
animals. Theoretically, in each case, this involved (1) cell‐to‐cell adhesion with an …

The first animals evolved from an unknown single-celled ancestor in the Precambrian
period. Recently, the identification and characterization of the genomic and cellular traits of …

Over 600 million years ago, animals evolved from a unicellular or colonial organism whose
cell (s) captured bacteria with a collar complex, a flagellum surrounded by a microvillar …

How animals evolved from a single-celled ancestor, transitioning from a unicellular lifestyle
to a coordinated multicellular entity, remains a fascinating question. Key events in this …

Background The origin of animals from their unicellular ancestor was one of the most
important events in evolutionary history, but the nature and the order of events leading up to …

The phylogeny and timescale of life are becoming better understood as the analysis of
genomic data from model organisms continues to grow. As a result, discoveries are being …

Benefits of increased size and functional specialization of cells have repeatedly promoted
the evolution of multicellular organisms from unicellular ancestors. Many requirements for …

Animal Evolution provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolutionary interrelationships
and myriad diversity of the Animal Kingdom. It reviews the classical, morphological …

Cell types are fundamental units of multicellular life but their evolution is obscure. How did
the first cell types emerge and become distinct in animal evolution? What were the sets of …