From simple to complex multicellularity: on the preconditions, design spaces and the evolution of neural agents

• Autores: Aina Ollé Vila
• Directores de la Tesis: Ricardo Vicente Solé (dir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat Pompeu Fabra ( España ) en 2020
• Idioma: español
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Lluís Alsedà i Soler (presid.), Sergi Valverde Castillo (secret.), Marta Ibañes Miguez (voc.)
• Programa de doctorado: Programa de Doctorado en Biomedicina por la Universidad Pompeu Fabra
• Materias:
  • Ciencias de la vida
    • Biomatemáticas
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• Resumen

  • The major evolutionary transitions deeply transformed the way information is organized and transmitted, sometimes in the form of a new hierarchical level containing lower, previously individual entities. A specially important case study involves the emergence of multicellularity and in the last decade major advances have been taking place both theoretically and experimentally. Along with standard approaches, new fields and methods have paved the way to a better understanding of the phenomenon and its implications. The rise of organoid technology and the use of in silico and experimental models of evolved multicellularity have helped shaping the area beyond natural systems, but little integration of the different approaches has been achieved. Here two instances of such integrative effort are presented in terms of a morphospace analysis of the universe of multicellularity. One based on the developmental-physical- cognitive dimensions and the second grounded in a evodevo approach enriched with the ecological dimension. These spaces provide not only an integrated perspective but also a picture of the limitations imposed by developmental constraints and self-organization, along with a roadmap for synthetic multicellularity. Within the rich repertoire of case studies included in these spaces, two rather unexplored avenues are also presented: (a) the preconditions associated to proto-organism formation and (b) the trade-offs associated to evolved, simple cognitive agents performing information-processing tasks. Both illustrate how theoretical models can provide guidelines to understand the origins of multicellular complexity.