Tissue-like multicellular development triggered by mechanical compression in archaea
Theopi Rados, Olivia S. Leland, Pedro Escudeiro, John Mallon, Katherine Andre, Ido Caspy, Andriko von Kügelgen, Elad Stolovicki, Sinead Nguyen, Inés Lucía Patop, Luiz Thibério Rangel, Sebastián Kadener, Lars D. Renner, Vera Thiel, Yoav Soen, Tanmay A. M. Bharat, Vikram Alva, Alex Bisson
Abstract
The advent of clonal multicellularity is a critical evolutionary milestone, seen often in eukaryotes, rarely in bacteria, and only once in archaea. We show that uniaxial compression induces clonal multicellularity in haloarchaea, forming tissue-like structures. These archaeal tissues are mechanically and molecularly distinct from their unicellular lifestyle, mimicking several eukaryotic features. Archaeal tissues undergo a multinucleate stage followed by tubulin-independent cellularization, orchestrated by active membrane tension at a critical cell size. After cellularization, tissue junction elasticity becomes akin to that of animal tissues, giving rise to two cell types-peripheral (Per) and central scutoid (Scu) cells-with distinct actin and protein glycosylation polarity patterns. Our findings highlight the potential convergent evolution of a biophysical mechanism in the emergence of multicellular systems across domains of life.