The transition from single cells to multicellularity is a key but not well-understood step in animal evolution. A study shows that loosely-organized colonies of attached single-celled organisms can improve feeding through hydrodynamic cooperation.
Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access through your institution
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Learn more
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Learn more
Buy this article
Purchase on SpringerLink
Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Log in
Learn about institutional subscriptions
Read our FAQs
Contact customer support
Fig. 1: Stentor attach singly or in dynamic pairs or colonies.
References
King, N. Dev. Cell 7, 313–325 (2004).
ArticleGoogle Scholar
Koehl, M. A. R. J. Exp. Zool. B Mol. Dev. Evol. 336, 315–326 (2021).
ArticleGoogle Scholar
Shekhar, S. et al. Nat. Phys.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-02787-y (2025).
ArticleGoogle Scholar
Esteban, G. F. & Fenchel, T. M. Ecology of Protozoa: The Biology of Free-living Phagotrophic Protists 2nd edn (Springer Cham, 2020).
Purcell, E. M. Am. J. Phys. 45, 3–11 (1977).
ArticleADSGoogle Scholar
Roper, M., Dayel, M. J., Pepper, R. E. & Koehl, M. A. R. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 228104 (2013).
ArticleADSGoogle Scholar
Kirkegaard, J. B. & Goldstein, R. E. Phys. Rev. E 94, 052401 (2016).
ArticleADSGoogle Scholar
Fenchel, T. Protist 170, 283–286 (2019).
ArticleGoogle Scholar
L’Etoile, N. J. & King-Smith, C. J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 67, 263–267 (2020).
ArticleGoogle Scholar
Tartar, V. The Biology of Stentor (Pergammon Press, 1961).
Download references
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, USA
Rachel E. Pepper
Authors
Rachel E. Pepper
View author publications
You can also search for this author inPubMedGoogle Scholar
Corresponding author
Correspondence to Rachel E. Pepper.
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
Reprints and permissions
About this article
Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark
Cite this article
Pepper, R.E. Good feeders make good neighbours. Nat. Phys. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-02793-0
Download citation
Published:31 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-02793-0
Share this article
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Get shareable link
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Copy to clipboard
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative