The transition to the aggregative stage of Capsaspora owczarzaki, a close unicellular relative to Metazoa, is associated with significant upregulation of orthologs of genes that are important for multicellularity in metazoans.

Genome editing in a close unicellular relative of animals suggests a premetazoan function of the Hippo pathway effector YAP/TAZ/Yorkie in the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics and multicellular morphogenesis but not proliferation.

Genetic analysis of Hippo pathway kinases in a close unicellular relative of animals suggests an ancestral role of this ancient pathway in regulating cytoskeletal dynamics and density of multicellular aggregates.

Functional genomics reveal complex genome regulation during the coenocytic development of the ichthyosporean Creolimax fragrantissima, a protist closely related to animals.

The foundations of genomic complexity in multicellular animals have deep roots in their unicellular prehistory, both in terms of innovations in gene content, as well as the evolutionary dynamics of genome architecture.

Collagen IV is a primordial extracellular matrix component associated with the transition to animal multicellularity, and enabled the formation and evolution of epithelial tissues.

The complex chromatin-based genomic regulatory system controlling developmental gene expression in complex bilaterians predates the evolution of morphological complexity and may have been a prerequisite for the evolution of the first simple multicellular animals.

Diversification of a conserved cholesterol binder drives functional replacement of cholesterol with symbiont-produced sterols in corals living in nutrient-poor environments.