The sponge genome reveals that, along the way toward the emergence of animals, genes for an entire network of specialized cells evolved. “This network laid the basis for the core gene logic of organisms that no longer functioned as single cells, but as a cooperative community of specialized cells — all geared toward the survival of a complex multicellular creature,” said Kosik.Co-author Todd Oakley, professor in UCSB’s Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, explained that this work also helps scientists to understand cancer. “Once there is a transition from single cell to multicellular organisms, conflict is set up between the different cells of the multicellular organism,” said Oakley. “It is in an individual cell’s best interest to keep replicating, and this actually is what cancer is — the uncontrolled replication of cells in the body.”
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