How does multicellularity evolve? Scientists who study a family of green algae that includes unicellular Chlamydomonas and multicellular Volvox are beginning to find answers to this question. Before ...

The transition to multicellularity enabled the evolution of large, complex organisms, but early steps in this transition remain poorly understood. Here we show that multicellular complexity, including ...

Nitrogen starvation triggers signal transduction pathways that result in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii entering a cycle of sexual reproduction. A second signal cascade is triggered by blue light and ...