Dynamical patterning modules and network motifs as joint determinants of development: Lessons from an aggregative bacterium

• Published in: Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution Vol. 336; no. 3; pp. 300 - 314
• Main Authors: Guzmán‐Herrera, Alejandra, Arias Del Angel, Juan A., Rivera‐Yoshida, Natsuko, Benítez, Mariana, Franci, Alessio
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley and Sons Inc 01.04.2021
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Biological Evolution; Body Patterning; Developmental Biology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; evolutionary-developmental biology; Genetics; Life sciences; Microbiologie; Microbiology; Molecular Medicine; morphogenesis; multicellularity; Myxococcus xanthus; Myxococcus xanthus/growth & development; Sciences du vivant; systems biology; systems biology; evolutionary-developmental biology; multicellularity; morphogenesis; Myxococcus xanthus
• ISSN: 1552-5007; 1552-5015; 1552-5015
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22946

Development and evolution are dynamical processes under the continuous control of organismic and environmental factors. Generic physical processes, associated with biological materials and certain genes or molecules, provide a morphological template for the evolution and development of organism forms. Generic dynamical behaviors, associated with recurring network motifs, provide a temporal template for the regulation and coordination of biological processes. The role of generic physical processes and their associated molecules in development is the topic of the dynamical patterning module (DPM) framework. The role of generic dynamical behaviors in biological regulation is studied via the identification of the associated network motifs (NMs). We propose a joint DPM–NM perspective on the emergence and regulation of multicellularity focusing on a multicellular aggregative bacterium, Myxococcus xanthus. Understanding M. xanthus development as a dynamical process embedded in a physical substrate provides novel insights into the interaction between developmental regulatory networks and generic physical processes in the evolutionary transition to multicellularity. Integration of DPM theory and Network Motifs to study multicellular development. Multicellularity has emerged many times in the history of evolution. Integrating DPM theory and Network Motifs can shed light on this Evo‐Devo phenomenon and provide a more complete picture of multicellular development. Research Highlights Integrative analysis of a developmental regulatory network based on physical (DPMs) and dynamical (Network Motifs) principles. It suggests a synergy between the two theories to understand multicellular development and its evolutionary origin.