The Evolution of Multicellularity, co-edited with Peter Conlin and Will Ratcliff, has been published by CRC Press. It’s available on Amazon, but cheaper to order direct, and for the time being you can save 20% with discount code FLA22 (I don’t know how long that will last).
The goal of this book is to provide an overview of the evolution of multicellularity: the types of multicellular groups that exist, their evolutionary relationships, the processes that led to their origins and subsequent evolution, and the conceptual frameworks in which their evolution is understood. In four main sections, the contributors review the philosophical issues and theoretical approaches to understanding the evolution of multicellularity, the evolution of aggregative multicellularity, the evolution of clonal multicellularity, and the evolution of multicellular life cycles and development. While the subject is too broad to cover in a truly comprehensive way, the contributors have done an outstanding job of synthesizing the critical information on their respective topics. We hope that this book will serve as a starting point for readers interested in the evolution of multicellularity, a reference for researchers on the subject, and a jumping-off point to stimulate future research.
The publisher has put pretty strict limits on what we can share (they want to sell books, after all), so I won’t be posting a downloadable version (I don’t, in fact, have one). However, the Foreword and Chapter 1 (together) can be downloaded for free, and some of the authors posted preprints of their chapters (which the publisher allowed). I have linked to these in the table of contents below. If I learn of others, I’ll update this post.
I’m biased, of course, but I really do think the authors have done an outstanding job with their respective chapters. I hope you think so, too!
Table of Contents
Foreword – Andrew H. Knoll – Available at doi 10.1201/9780429351907 (use the “Preview PDF” button)
1. Introduction: The Evolution of Multicellularity in Context – Matthew D. Herron, Peter L. Conlin, and William C. Ratcliff – Available at doi 10.1201/9780429351907 (use the “Preview PDF” button)
Section 1: Theory and Philosophy
2. Getting at the Basics of Multicellularity – Maureen A. O’Malley
3. Multi-Level Selection of the Individual Organism – Richard E. Michod
4. Life Cycles as a Central Organizing Theme for Studying Multicellularity – Merlijn Staps, Jordi van Gestel, and Corina E. Tarnita
Section 2: Aggregative Multicellularity
5. Eukaryote Aggregative Multicellularity: Phylogenetic Distribution and a Case Study of Its Proximate and Ultimate Cause in Dictyostelia – Pauline Schaap
6. Group Formation: On the Evolution of Aggregative Multicellularity – Marco La Fortezza, Kaitlin A. Schaal, and Gregory J. Velicer – Preprint
7. Group Maintenance in Aggregative Multicellularity – Israt Jahan, Tyler Larsen, Joan E. Strassmann, and David C. Queller – Preprint
8. Group Transformation: Fruiting Body and Stalk Formation – Cathleen Broersma and Elizabeth A. Ostrowski – Preprint
Section 3: Clonal Multicellularity
9. Phylogenetics of Clonal Multicellularity – Michelle M. Leger and Iñaki Ruiz-Trillo
10. Group Formation: Hypotheses for the Evolution of Clonal Multicellularity – Stefania E. Kapsetaki and Roberta M. Fisher
11. Group Maintenance in Clonal Multicellularity: Controlling Intra-organismal Evolution – Aurora M. Nedelcu and Alexander N. May
12. Group Transformation: Life History Trade-offs, Division of Labor, and Evolutionary Transitions in Individuality – Guilhem Doulcier, Katrin Hammerschmidt, and Pierrick Bourrat – Preprint
Section 4: Life Cycles and Complex Multicellularity
13. The Single-Celled Ancestors of Animals: A History of Hypotheses – Thibaut Brunet and Nicole King – Preprint
14. Convergent Evolution of Complex Multicellularity in Fungi – László G. Nagy
15. Genetic and Developmental Mechanisms of Cellular Differentiation in Algae – Susana M. Coelho and J. Mark Cock
16. The Evolution of Complex Multicellularity in Streptophytes – Liam N. Briginshaw and John L. Bowman
17. Multi-Species Multicellular Life Cycles – Rebecka Andersson, Hanna Isaksson, and Eric Libby
Section 5: Synthesis and Conclusions
18. Conclusion: The Future of Multicellularity Research – William C. Ratcliff, Peter L. Conlin, and Matthew D. Herron