highlighted paper Experimental Evolution of Multicellularity  Welcome I am a postdoctoral researcher with Mike Travisano at the University of Minnesota. I use experimental evolution to explore how multicellular organisms can evolve from single- celled ancestors. The transition to multicellularity was critical for the evolution of large, complex organisms, but the first steps in this process are poorly understood. In a recent paper, we show that multicellularity can evolve surprisingly quickly under the right conditions. Along with my PhD advisor R. Ford Denison, I have written papers on bacterial bet- hedging, microbial communication, the evolution of bacterial cheating strategies, and how to measure the fitness of symbiotic rhizobia. See our whole group at MicroPop.org Home Evolution of multicellularity, bet hedging and microbial cooperation We evolve simple multicellular organisms from single-celled ancestors in the lab. These ‘snowflake yeast’ are characterized by determinate-growth, a juvenile stage, and simple among-cell division of labor.

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