Evolution of Cellular Differentiation: From Hypotheses to Models

Cellular differentiation is one of the hallmarks of complex multicellularity, allowing individual organisms to capitalize on among-cell functional diversity. The evolution of multicellularity is a major evolutionary transition that allowed for the increase of organismal complexity in multiple lineages, a process that relies on the functional integration of cell-types within an individual. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origins of cellular differentiation, but we lack a general understanding of what makes one cell-type distinct from others, and how such differentiation arises. Here, we describe how the use of Boolean networks (BNs) can aid in placing empirical findings into a coherent conceptual framework, and we emphasize some of the standing problems when interpreting data and model behaviors.

Automated summary

Cellular differentiation is a hallmark of complex multicellularity that allows organisms to benefit from functional diversity among cells. The evolution of multicellularity is a major transition that increases organism complexity through the integration of cell types within an individual. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origins of cellular differentiation, but understanding of cell-type distinctiveness and differentiation mechanisms remains incomplete.