Quantifying the energetic costs and growth benefits of phagocytosis.
Phagocytosis, the ingestion of cells by other cells, is ubiquitous among eukaryotic life. It is utilized for food uptake and in the immune response in many species. The origin of phagocytosis and its role in the evolution of endomembranes and the eukaryotic cell remains obscure. Drawing on a wealth of empirical data, w...