Evolutionary transition from single-cell to multi-cell organisms: the role of surface waters and their hydrodynamics
Vladimir Nikora, Hongwei Fang, Guojian He, Lei Huang · 2026
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Description
Vladimir Nikora, Hongwei Fang, Guojian He, and Lei Huang argue in 2026 that flowing surface water helped life make the leap from single cells to multicellular forms. Bigger, many-celled organisms burn far more energy, so they need faster nutrient supply. Rising oxygen in the Neoproterozoic era gets most of the credit in standard accounts.
Nikora and colleagues propose that widespread water movement boosted nutrient delivery to microbes, acting as a necessary partner to oxygen. They define three testable flow regimes governing uptake for both attached and free-floating microbes. Streambeds, where water meets the bottom, may have been breeding grounds for early multicellularity. Their framework yields predictions linking organism size, flow, and habitat.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Vladimir Nikora, Hongwei Fang, Guojian He, Lei Huang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 38471 |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |