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A Hydroponic Co-cultivation System for Simultaneous and Systematic Analysis of Plant/Microbe Molecular Interactions and Signaling
Published on: July 22, 2017
A secondary symbiosis in progress?
1Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8572, Japan.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|October 15, 2005
Summary
A protist named Hatena exhibits uneven inheritance of its green algal endosymbiont. This unique relationship causes significant changes, potentially showing an early step in secondary symbiosis for plastid acquisition.
Area of Science:
- * Eukaryotic cell biology
- * Endosymbiosis and evolution
- * Protist and algal research
Background:
- * Algae acquire plastids via primary or secondary endosymbiosis.
- * Primary endosymbiosis involves cyanobacteria.
- * Secondary endosymbiosis involves other eukaryotic algae.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate a novel endosymbiotic relationship in the protist Hatena.
- * To understand the morphological and architectural changes resulting from this symbiosis.
- * To explore the potential implications for understanding early stages of secondary symbiosis.
Main Methods:
- * Microscopic observation of Hatena and its algal endosymbiont.
- * Analysis of morphological changes in both host and symbiont.
- * Comparative study of endosymbiont inheritance patterns.
Main Results:
- * Hatena hosts an endosymbiotic green alga, inheriting it unevenly.
- * The endosymbiosis induces drastic morphological alterations in both Hatena and the algal partner.
- * The host is only partially converted from a predator to an autotroph.
Conclusions:
- * The Hatena-alga interaction represents a unique case of partial endosymbiont integration.
- * This life cycle may exemplify an early phase in the evolution of secondary plastid acquisition.
- * Further research can elucidate the mechanisms and evolutionary significance of this partial symbiosis.
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