Unicellular Ancestor Sheds Light on Pre-Animal Embryonic Development
Originally Published 1 year ago — by Phys.org
Researchers from the University of Geneva have discovered that the unicellular organism Chromosphaera perkinsii, which predates animals by over a billion years, forms multicellular structures similar to animal embryos. This suggests that the genetic programs for embryonic development may have existed before animals evolved, or that C. perkinsii independently developed similar processes. The findings, published in Nature, could reshape our understanding of the evolution of multicellularity and embryonic development.