All articles tagged with #symbiosis
Researchers found mycorrhizal fungi inside desert moss, with branching structures in the moss leaves suggesting a potential moss–fungi symbiosis. The fungal communities inside moss differed from surrounding soil, implying a deliberate association rather than contamination. If confirmed, this could reshape moss biology and illuminate how plants first moved from sea to land.
New genomic work on Demodex folliculorum, the tiny facial mite living in human hair follicles, shows humans are its primary habitat and that the mite’s genome has shrunk to essentials, likely tied to a sheltered, night-time lifestyle. The study suggests these mites may be evolving from parasites toward obligate symbionts, potentially even offering benefits like keeping facial pores clear, while their limited gene pool could push them toward an evolutionary dead end. Researchers highlight unusual body features and a mating pattern that occurs at night, underscoring how intimately these mites coexist with us.
A University of Sydney-led study analyzing 18 cockroach and termite genomes finds pervasive horizontal gene transfer from the bacterial endosymbiont Blattabacterium cuenoti, with about 40,485 DNA fragments (including non-coding bits) embedded in cockroach DNA—some persisting for up to ~28.7 million years—raising questions about their function and suggesting HGT may be more common in eukaryotes than previously thought.
A new Ecology and Evolution study documents seven observations of remoras entering manta ray cloacal openings across three manta species worldwide, suggesting a parasitic twist to the remora–host relationship and prompting a reevaluation of how these symbioses function in the wild.
Remoras, long seen as mutualistic hitchhikers that clean and shield their hosts, may be more parasitic than previously thought. New research notes reduced grazing by hosts with remoras present and rare cases of remoras entering manta rays’ cloacae, a behavior dubbed “cloacal diving” that challenges the traditional view of a beneficial relationship and highlights the parasite-like potential of these clingy fish.
A new study documents remoras diving into manta ray cloacas and attaching beneath gill slits across manta species, suggesting these hitchhikers may be more invasive than previously thought. While remoras can help by cleaning parasites, their aggressive attachment can increase drag and cause injuries, pushing the relationship along a spectrum from mutualism to parasitism and raising concerns for manta rays already facing threats from fishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Researchers emphasize the interaction is nuanced and context-dependent, potentially beneficial in some cases and costly in others.
Diver Jamie Wilson filming the Great Barrier Reef captured hundreds of pale surgeonfish visiting a cleaning station, and one fish abruptly darkened from white to black. Scientists say such color changes may signal to cleaner wrasse that the fish is ready for a cleaning and not a threat, aiding parasite removal and communication in reef ecosystems.
Researchers describe a three-way symbiosis in the Amazon between the shrub Hirtella physophora, the ant Allomerus decemarticulatus, and a cultivated fungus. The ants fashion a trap by cutting plant hairs and using fungal adhesive to build a stem platform with pores, where they ambush prey much larger than themselves; crickets are overcome and consumed. The plant gains defense and sugar rewards; the ants get prey, and the fungus feeds on waste, making a rare win-win-win interaction.
Researchers have identified a genetic switch in plants that can be modified to enable crops like barley to fix nitrogen from the air through symbiosis with bacteria, potentially reducing the need for artificial fertilizers and making agriculture more sustainable.
Scientists have discovered that sea spiders in deep California methane seeps thrive by cultivating and grazing on methane-consuming bacteria on their bodies, revealing a unique survival strategy and potential role in reducing methane emissions, with implications for understanding deep-sea microbial ecosystems and climate change mitigation.
Scientists have discovered Sukunaarchaeum mirabile, a microbe that challenges traditional definitions of life by being cellular yet highly dependent on its host, blurring the line between viruses and living organisms, and prompting a reevaluation of what constitutes life.
Sea slugs of the species Elysia crispata can steal and utilize chloroplasts from algae to generate energy from sunlight, a process called kleptoplasty, which may serve multiple functions like energy production, camouflage, or defense, revealing complex biological interactions and potential insights into symbiosis and evolution.
Scientists discovered three new species of deep-sea 'spiders' that farm methane-eating bacteria on their bodies, relying on these bacteria for food in the dark, methane-rich environments of ocean seeps, with evidence suggesting bacteria are passed down generations, highlighting unique survival strategies in the deep ocean.
Researchers discovered that deep-sea Sericosura sea spiders cultivate and feed on methane-oxidizing bacteria on their exoskeletons, forming a unique symbiotic relationship that provides them with nutrition in the dark, energy-poor environments of methane seeps.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology have discovered new mitochondria-like symbionts that live inside ciliates and perform unique metabolic functions, including nitrate respiration. These symbionts, found globally in various environments, have expanded to include new species capable of both anaerobic and aerobic respiration. This discovery has significant implications for understanding microbial evolution and the nitrogen cycle, as these symbionts can impact nutrient removal and greenhouse gas production.