People who somehow in this day and age still don’t believe in evolution like to argue
that we’re too complex to share a common ancestor with single cell organisms.
“Show me the evidence,” they cry.
Ok, here it is.
Hi there my fellow complex organisms, Julian here for DNews.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany recently watched
organisms make the transition from independent single cells to sustainable multicellular
life forms in real time.
Pseudomonas fluorescens are bacteria that usually grow independently from each other,
but sometimes they mutate and produce a glue that causes them to stick together.
When they do they form mats at the surface of the fluids they're grown in in the lab.
This gives them better access to oxygen at the surface and lets them thrive.
But once they form a mat, they give the bacteria that don't make the glue a platform.
Because they aren't wasting energy, the non-sticky Pseudomonas outcompete their brethren and
eventually break the mat.
Thanks to the cheats at the top that are hogging all the energy without giving back, the whole
thing sinks, and they all die.
And I can hear the flame wars starting in the comments already, but there's no political
metaphor here, guys.
It’s just some bacteria in a tube.
Paul Rainey, who led the study, wanted to see if there was a way the mats could become
self sustaining instead of just dying off when they became overburdened.
He allowed them to grow under 2 circumstances, one where the cheats were removed, and one
where the cheats were allowed to stay and became the genesis of the next wave of glue-making
bacteria.
Both scenarios ended up causing a life cycle of mat-forming P fluorescens, but the really
interesting thing is when they were examined the mats in both cases, the individual cells
were working together and were more fit as a whole than they would be individually, the
same way you and your stomach only survive when working together instead of being separate
cells.
Even the dirty dirty cheats on top were contributing to the fitness of the mat as a whole.
This is the complete opposite of what happens in group projects in school.
It was the beginning of multicellular cooperative life.
It’s evolution, in real time, right in front of your face.
How cool is that?
If you still need further proof that Darwin is a boss, Laci and Catie Wayne have a video
on that right over here.
Have you witnessed any scientific principles come to life?
Let us know in the comments, and I’ll see you next time on DNews.