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Biology is full of examples of multicellular (MC) systems which may demonstrate some organism-like properties but not all of them. Thus, it remains unclear if and when such systems should be considered as MC organisms, parts of organisms or groups of organisms. We suggest the notion of autonomy as a possible candidate to ground conceptually MC organisms and distinguish them from other forms of multicellularity. Considering unicellular systems as autonomous organisms on the basis of the functional integration required for their metabolic organization, we argue that MC systems should be also identified as autonomous, but on the basis of exhibiting a special kind of functionally integrated and differentiated developmental organization, which unfolds through a self-constructed set of mechanisms regulating the highly plastic processes that bring about their own constitution as such MC entities. KEYWORDS AUTONOMY, ORGANISM, MULTICELLULARITY, FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION, FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION, DEVELOPMENTAL CONSTRAINTS, EPIGENETICS, SIGNALING NETWORKS RESUMEN La biologia esta llena de ejemplos de sistemas multicelulares que pueden mostrar algunas propiedades de organismos, pero no todas. De este modo, no esta muy claro si estos sistemas deben ser considerados como organismos multicelulares y cuando deben serlo. Aqui sugerimos que la nocion de autonomia es un candidato posible para fundamentar conceptualmente los organismos multicelulares y para distinguirlos de otras formas de multicelularidad. Considerando a los sistemas unicelulares como organismos autonomos sobre la base de la integracion funcional requerida para su organizacion metabolica, arguimos que los sistemas multicelulares deben ser tambien identificados como autonomos, pero sobre la base de que exhiben un tipo especial de organizacion del desarrollo funcionalmente integrada y diferenciada, la cual se despliega a traves de un conjunto auto-construido de mecanismos que regulan los procesos enormemente plasticos que dan lugar a su propia constitucion como tales entidades multicelulares. PALABRAS CLAVE AUTONOMIA, ORGANISMO, MULTICELULARIDAD, INTEGRACION FUNCTIONAL, DIFERENCIACION FUNCTIONAL, CONSTRICCIONES DEL DESARROLLO, EPIGENETICA, REDES DE SENALES

Autonomy as a property that characterizes organisms among other multicellular systems