Division of Labor in Multicellular Organisms
We use this agent-based model to show how primitive signs of division of labor can appear spontaneously in a multicellular organism.
What is this?
-
Each square is a cell. The color indicates their current activity:
-
Gray: idle
-
Green: metabolizing
-
Red: reproducing
-
-
At each tick, a cell can either
-
metabolize, generating energy
-
reproduce if it past the energy threshold and has space around
-
-
Cells have a probability of death that increases with age.
Things to manipulate
-
Energy threshold for reproduction
-
Energy cost of reproduction
-
Metabolize efficiency: how much energy can be generated via one metabolization action
-
Whether energy is shared among neighboring cells.
-
Average lifespan of cells
Things to observe
-
The proportion of reproducers (cells that solely reproduce) and metabolizers (cells that solely metabolize)
-
The age of reproducers when they die
-
The energy of metabolizers when they die
© Tianqin Ren, 2024