Hajara M. Lawal

TL;DR: Phylogenetic dating using a concatenated data set and extensive loss of synteny indicate that DF, PP, and DD split from their last common ancestor at least 0.6 billion years ago.

TL;DR: It is concluded that the transition to multicellularity required novel signals and sensors rather than novel signal processing mechanisms, and changes in gene expression correspond more strongly with phenotypic innovation than changes in protein functional domains.

TL;DR: Overall, dictyostelids show considerable plasticity in the size and shape of multicellular structures, both within and between species, which probably reflects constraints placed by colonial life on developmental control mechanisms.

TL;DR: The Dictyostelid social amoebas are a popular model system for cell- and developmental biology and for evolution of sociality as discussed by the authors, which is a more robust phylogeny than the small subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA-based phylogenies.

TL;DR: It is shown that the more widely produced stalk-inducing signal cyclic diguanylate activates cAMP synthesis by adenylate cyclase A, which is specifically expressed at the apical tip, which explains why stalk formation in Dictyostelium always initiates at the site of the morphogenetic organizer.