International Team Discovers Rare Primary Endosymbiosis Event between Algae and Bacterium: A Revolutionary Step Toward Agricultural Advancements
Stay up-to-date with the latest insights and opinions by subscribing to our free weekly Voices newsletter. You can also receive a full digest of the best opinions of the week by signing up for our Voices Dispatches email.
In a rare event that has only happened twice in Earth’s history, two life forms have merged to form a single organism through primary endosymbiosis. This evolutionary phenomenon has given rise to complex life forms like mitochondria and plants. Recently, an international team of scientists observed this occurrence between a species of algae and a bacterium.
Tyler Coale, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, led the research that uncovered this unique event. He explained how previous instances of primary endosymbiosis resulted in the diversity of life we see today. The algae engulfs the bacterium, providing nutrients and protection in exchange for new functions like nitrogen fixation. This symbiotic relationship results in the bacterium becoming an organelle within the algae, essential for its survival.
The scientists involved in the research, from institutions like MIT, UC Santa Cruz, and Kochi University in Japan, published their findings in prestigious scientific journals. This discovery not only sheds light on evolution but also has the potential to revolutionize agriculture by engineering similar organelles into crop plants.
