Figure 4.

Major eukaryotic clades, their epigenomic characterization and the origins of multicellularity. The tree shown follows previously published topologies [112], but it should be noted that the precise deep branching is still to be fully resolved by future phylogenomic studies. Red rounded rectangles are placed next to the lineages in which chromatin and transcriptional biology have been studied in considerable detail. Pink rounded rectangles are placed next to clades for some representatives of which initial epigenomic studies have been carried out in some detail. Clades in which multicellularity has evolved are indicated with three circles where multicellularity results from cell division, and by three triangles where multicellularity is aggregative [113]. The lineages containing nucleomorphs (the chlorarachniyophytes and the cryptophytes) are indicated with ‘NM’.