multicellularity
Many-celled body plan
Multicellularity is the condition of being composed of many cells working together as a single organism.
Most visible life forms—animals, plants, fungi—are multicellular, with specialized cells performing different functions: nerve cells transmit signals, muscle cells contract, leaf cells photosynthesize.
The evolutionary leap from single-celled to multicellular life occurred independently several times, enabling greater complexity and size.
Disposable soft paper
- organBody's working component
- systemConnected parts forming whole
- structureArrangement of interconnected parts
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
integration · differentiation · morphology · adhesion · communication · regulation · homeostasis · development
Nuclear-membrane organisms
- originsPoints where things start
- transitionChange from one state
- emergenceComing into existence
- ancestralOf one's forebears
phylogeny · natural selection · mutation · lineage · fossil record · speciation · Cambrian explosion · cladistics
Splitting tasks among workers
- neuronImpulse-conducting cell
- muscleContractile body tissue
- epitheliumTissue covering body surfaces
- glandSecreting body organ
receptor · pathway · morphogenesis · function · role · differentiated · somatic · germline
Reciprocal reliance between entities
- coordinationOrganized cooperative movement
- collectiveJointly organized group
- division of laborSplitting tasks among workers
- mutualismTwo-way biological benefit
communal · shared · reciprocal · synchrony
Multicellular mobile organisms
- plantsPhotosynthesizing rooted organisms
- fungiSpore-reproducing decomposers
- algaePrimitive aquatic photosynthesizers
- spongesPorous absorbent masses
vertebrates · invertebrates · embryo · symmetry · lifeforms · zoology · botany · slime molds
tissue
Disposable soft paper
- organBody's working component
- systemConnected parts forming whole
- structureArrangement of interconnected parts
hierarchy · integration · differentiation · morphology · adhesion · communication · regulation · homeostasis · development · growth
eukaryotes
Nuclear-membrane organisms
- originsPoints where things start
- transitionChange from one state
- emergenceComing into existence
ancestral · phylogeny · natural selection · mutation · lineage · fossil record · speciation · Cambrian explosion · cladistics · homology
division of labor
Splitting tasks among workers
- neuronImpulse-conducting cell
- muscleContractile body tissue
- epitheliumTissue covering body surfaces
gland · receptor · pathway · morphogenesis · function · role · differentiated · somatic · germline · progenitor
interdependence
Reciprocal reliance between entities
- coordinationOrganized cooperative movement
- collectiveJointly organized group
- division of laborSplitting tasks among workers
mutualism · communal · shared · reciprocal · synchrony
animals
Multicellular mobile organisms
- plantsPhotosynthesizing rooted organisms
- fungiSpore-reproducing decomposers
- algaePrimitive aquatic photosynthesizers
sponges · vertebrates · invertebrates · embryo · symmetry · lifeforms · zoology · botany · slime molds · kelp
- eukaryotesanimals, animal, nucleus, fungi, plants
- slime moldsslime mold, slime molds, plasmodium
cell, cellular, unicellular, multicellular, intracellular, extracellular, intercellular, subcellular, multicelled