multicellular
adjective
mul·ti·cel·lu·lar
ˌməl-tē-ˈsel-yə-lər 
-ˌtī-
: having, made up of, or involving more than one and usually many cells especially of living matter
It is probable that with a few exceptions all the cells in a multicellular organism have the same genetic information encoded in the chains of nucleotide bases that make up their DNA.—
James E. Darnell, Jr.
James E. Darnell, Jr.A biofilm is a community of bacteria that use intercellular signaling to establish complex multicellular structures by coordinating gene expression and phenotypic changes.—J. Christopher Post et al.
J. Christopher Post et al.
multicellularity
noun
When is an organism multicellular? A generic answer … is that multicellularity results when two or more neighboring cells adhere, interact, and physiologically communicate.
—Karl J. Niklas
Karl J. Niklas
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Multicellular organisms are distinguished from the very primitive single-celled organisms—bacteria, algae, amoebas, etc. Even sponges, simple as they are, have specialized cell types such as digestive cells. In complex multicellular organisms, only the surface cells can exchange substances with the external environment, so the organisms have developed transport systems such as the circulatory system, in which the blood brings gases and nutrients to the cells and removes waste products from them.
Examples of multicellular in a Sentence
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How Cells Keep Time When Johnson entered graduate school in the 1970s, scientists knew that circadian clocks — organisms’ internal timekeepers for the day-night cycle — are ubiquitous in multicellular plants and animals.
—Elizabeth Landau, quantamagazine.org, 11 Oct. 2024
Since then, scientists have discovered more than a thousand genes that produce different microRNAs in humans and have shown that all multicellular organisms use microRNA to control protein production.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024
Today, all complex multicellular life — indeed, all life that any of us regularly see — is made of eukaryotic cells.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
Dating of the rock formations revealed that the Ediacara fauna was more than 550 million years old—quite a sensation at the time as nobody expected multicellular life to appear so early in Earth's history.
—David Bressan, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
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Elizabeth Landau, quantamagazine.org, 11 Oct. 2024
Since then, scientists have discovered more than a thousand genes that produce different microRNAs in humans and have shown that all multicellular organisms use microRNA to control protein production.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024
Today, all complex multicellular life — indeed, all life that any of us regularly see — is made of eukaryotic cells.
—Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024
Dating of the rock formations revealed that the Ediacara fauna was more than 550 million years old—quite a sensation at the time as nobody expected multicellular life to appear so early in Earth's history.
—David Bressan, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for multicellular
Dictionary Entries Near multicellular
Cite this Entry
“Multicellular.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/multicellular. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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