A call for research on the basis for polygonal pleomorphism in archaea

Morphogenesis is a major unsolved problem. It is usually tackled in the embryogenesis of multicellular organisms, but rarely leans on studies of single-cell organisms. But the latter often have fascinating, puzzling shapes, whose understanding may be key to multicellular embryogenesis, wound healing, and regeneration. Here, I call for new directions in studying what may have been the first shaped, single-celled organisms, the Domain of Archaea, which might have been LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor), the first organisms at the origin of life. While their shaping is usually attributed to the “crystallinity” of the S-layer, this may have the liquidity of a bubble raft.