The Evolution of Multicellularity and the Cambrian Explosion

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms related to the evolution of multicellularity and the Cambrian explosion.

Multicellularity

The state of being composed of many cells that adhere to each other, allowing for specialization among cells.

Ediacaran Fauna

The first complex multicellular organisms from the Ediacaran period, characterized by odd body plans and lacking hard parts.

Cambrian Explosion

A rapid diversification of life and the appearance of modern animal phyla that occurred approximately 535-525 million years ago.

Fossils

Preserved remnants or impressions of organisms that lived in the past.

Microfossils

Extremely small fossils that provide evidence of early animal life, including sponges and corals.

Preservation Bias

The tendency for some organisms to be better preserved as fossils than others, influenced by factors like hard vs soft parts and geographical range.

Symbiosis

The cooperative interaction between different species of unicellular organisms, potentially leading to multicellularity.

Bangiomorpha pubescens

One of the earliest known multicellular organisms, dating back approximately 1.2 billion years.

Genetic Shuffling

The process involving the rearrangement of genetic material that may have contributed to the evolution of complex animal forms during the Cambrian explosion.

Hox Genes

A group of related genes that control the body plan of an embryo along the head-tail axis, important during the evolutionary diversification of animals.

Cellularization

the process whereby single cells aggregate to form multicellular structures, crucial in early evolutionary stages of multicellularity.

Colonality

The evolution of organisms that live in colonies, where individual cells function together as a multicellular entity, playing a significant role in the development of early multicellularity.