Harnessing hypoxia as an evolutionary driver of complex multicellularity : Hypoxia drives multicellular evolution
Animal tissue requires low-oxygen conditions for its maintenance. The need for low-oxygen conditions contrasts with the idea of an evolutionary leap in animal diversity as a result of expanding oxic conditions. To accommodate tissue renewal at oxic conditions, however, vertebrate animals and vascular plants demonstrate abilities to access hypoxia. Here, I argue that multicellular organisms sustain
