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On the evolution of differentiation

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Summary

Evidence is presented that differentiating systems are closed off from their environment and self-sufficient; they must therefore operate on an endogenous metabolism. This fundamental characteristic of differentiation is exmained from the point of view of its evolution and with respect to the initiation, control and consumation of morphogenesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The John Collins Warren Laboratories of the Huntington Memorial Hospital of Harvard University at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass., USA

    Barbara E. Wright

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  1. Barbara E. Wright
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Dedicated to Prof. C. B. van Niel for his 70th birthday. Kees introduced me to the slime molds, and they, in turn, introduced me to these speculations about their evolution.

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Wright, B.E. On the evolution of differentiation. Archiv. Mikrobiol. 59, 335–344 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406347

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406347

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