ICTS:31056

Video URL

The ecological underpinning of evolutionary conflicts in social amoebae

The ecological underpinning of evolutionary conflicts in social amoebae

(2025). The ecological underpinning of evolutionary conflicts in social amoebae. SciVideos. https://youtube.com/live/r8WQSkr-psU

The ecological underpinning of evolutionary conflicts in social amoebae. SciVideos, Mar. 20, 2025, https://youtube.com/live/r8WQSkr-psU 

          @misc{ scivideos_ICTS:31056,
            doi = {},
            url = {https://youtube.com/live/r8WQSkr-psU},
            author = {},
            keywords = {},
            language = {en},
            title = {The ecological underpinning of evolutionary conflicts in social amoebae},
            publisher = {},
            year = {2025},
            month = {mar},
            note = {ICTS:31056 see, \url{https://scivideos.org/index.php/icts-tifr/31056}}
          }
Silvia De Monte
Talk numberICTS:31056
Source RepositoryICTS-TIFR
Collection

Abstract

The facultatively multicellular amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a model system for studying the transition from unicellular to multicellular organization. It is a remarkable example of microbes with aggregative life cycles, which evolved multiple times independently in distant taxa. A key feature of such cycles is that multicellular aggregates can contain cells that are genetically different, and are therefore subjected to a high degree of conflict.

I will discuss different solutions that have been proposed to account for the evolutionary persistence of such apparently paradoxical life cycles. In particular, in the light of recent experimental results, I will address the link between proximate causes, rooted in single-cell mechanics, and ultimate causation. I will also show how agent-based and eco-evolutionary models can be used to understand the role of heterogeneous motility in the evolution of aggregative life cycles.