The Influence of Biological Electrical Energy on the Emergence and Evolution of Multicellular Organisms

This paper proposes a hypothesis according to which the key factor in the emergence of multicellular organisms was the bioelectric coupling of cells — coordination of their electrical activity through gap junctions, ion channels, and synchronized membrane-potential oscillations. Existing theories (Haeckel’s gastraea, colonial hypotheses) explain the aggregation of cells into colonies but not how a colony of autonomous cells becomes an integrated organism. The proposed hypothesis fills this gap: bioelectric coupling acts as the physical mechanism of integration, coordinating gene expression and cell behavior across the colony. The work continues the author’s ATP-based model of the emergence of life and consciousness. A testable consequence is derived: suppression of bioelectric coupling should prevent integration of a cell colony into a single organism even when physical cell contact is preserved.