Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

11:28
Layers of Symbiosis - Visualizing the Termite Hindgut Microbial Community
Published on: May 28, 2007
Zoology meets Botany: establishing intracellular organelles by endosymbiosis
Abstract:
One of the most citated characteristics of eukaryotic cells are mitochondria and in the case of phototrophic cells, the plastids. These organelles are of eubacterial origin and contain a remnant genome. Here, we present hypotheses concerning the origin of the first mitochondrium-harboring cell and show the evolution of primary, secondary and tertiary plastids. Furthermore we discuss models explaining why plastids have to maintain their own genome.
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The endosymbiont theory is the most widely accepted theory of eukaryotic evolution; however, its progression is still somewhat debated. According to the nucleus-first hypothesis, the ancestral prokaryote first evolved a membrane to enclose DNA and form the nucleus. Conversely, the mitochondria-first hypothesis suggests that the nucleus was formed after endosymbiosis of mitochondria.
Contrary to the endosymbiont theory, the eukaryote-first hypothesis proposes that the simpler prokaryotic and...
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A...
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A...
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Cells pull particles inward and engulf them in spherical vesicles in an energy-requiring process called endocytosis. Phagocytosis (“cellular eating”) is one of three major types of endocytosis. Cells use phagocytosis to take in large objects—such as other cells (or their debris), bacteria, and even viruses.The objective of phagocytosis is often destruction. Cells use phagocytosis to eliminate unwelcome visitors, like pathogens (e.g., viruses and bacteria). It is perhaps unsurprising, that many...
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