10 min listen
462: Super Ciliate Symbiont Set
FromBacterioFiles
ratings:
Length:
9 minutes
Released:
Sep 13, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
This episode: A eukaryote has symbionts living in it: green algae and also purple bacteria, a combo never seen before! Download Episode (6.1 MB, 8.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Staphylococcus virus phiETA News item Takeaways Having bacteria as endosymbionts is fairly common in life on Earth: almost all eukaryotes have them in the form of mitochondria and sometimes chloroplasts. These former bacteria somehow got inside the ancestral eukaryote, either as parasites or as prey, and ended up as integral parts of their host's metabolic functions. Some organisms, especially insects, obtained bacterial endosymbionts more recently, that help them balance their metabolic needs when living on limited diets. Algae have been known to be endosymbionts also, performing photosynthesis for their host. But in this study, a ciliate with both algae and purple photosynthetic bacteria as endosymbionts was discovered. Purple bacteria as symbionts is rare, and this combination has not been observed before. Interestingly, though algae produce oxygen through their photosynthesis, the ciliate prefers living in low-oxygen sediment at the bottom of a pond. The symbionts and their host seem to adjust their metabolisms as needed depending on the needs at the time; they may each perform photosynthesis, fermentation, or respiration if light, organic carbon, or oxygen are available. Journal Paper: Muñoz-Gómez SA, Kreutz M, Hess S. 2021. A microbial eukaryote with a unique combination of purple bacteria and green algae as endosymbionts. Sci Adv 7:eabg4102. Other interesting stories: Oxygen-producing microbes could help treat acute strokes Email questions or comments to bacteriofiles at gmail dot com. Thanks for listening! Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.
Released:
Sep 13, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (97)
410: Microbes Modify Muscle Measurement: This episode: Mice that got a microbe transplant from humans with higher physical function performed better in certain ways than mice receiving microbes from humans with lower physical function! (6.7 MB, 9.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the... by BacterioFiles