Question

Describe two examples of prokaryotes acting in a multicellular-like manner

Answer 1

Prokaryotes are unicellular organisms. They are made up of only a single cell. But still there are certain example in which a type of multicellularity is observed. Although, this is not true multicellularity.

The first example is of cyanobacteria like Nostoc. They live in colonies where all the cells function by division of labour. By division of labour we mean to say that all the cells are performing different function which is ultimately helping in the survival of all the cells of the colony. The whole colony is covered by a gelatinous sheet. The colony not only contains vegetative cells, but it also contains heterocyst, which are cells with thick walls and are the sites of nitrogen fixation.

The other example is myxobacteria. This bacteria is unicellular but whenever there are unfavourable conditions in the environment, like deficiency of nutrients, then this bacteria forms multicellular fruiting bodies in which multiple spores called as myxospores are formed. They have thick cell wall. Within the fruiting body, the growth of these cells take place all together. When the favourable conditions return, the cells dissociate from each other and then grow independently.

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