All symbiosis articles
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NewsProfessor investigates how symbiotic groups - like corals and biofilms - can behave like single organisms
UNCG philosopher of biology Dr. Derek Skillings is the lead investigator on a new, three-year, $600,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation for a study of the emergence and evolution of goal-directed behavior in collective entities.
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NewsWe feed gut microbes sugar, they make a compound we need
Gut microbes that were thought to feed exclusively on dietary fiber are also fed sugar from our guts, from which they produce short-chain fatty acids that are crucial to many body functions.
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NewsHidden fungal allies strengthen defenses of black poplars and influence insect interactions
Endophytic fungi inside the leaves strengthen the chemical defenses of black poplars and influence the interactions between insect populations living on the trees.
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NewsHeat-stressed reefs may benefit from coral-dwelling crabs
A species of branching coral is able to recover from heat stress and wounds due to its mutualistic relationship with crabs in the Great Barrier Reef Corals, a new study shows. This evolutionary partnership will inspire coral reef restoration strategies in the future.
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NewsStudy reveals how anemonefish avoid stings from their sea anemone hosts - bacteria could be involved
Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding how anemonefish can live safely among sea anemones without being stung by their venomous tentacles, solving a century-long mystery.
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NewsScientists reveals how tiny algae shaped the evolution of giant clams
Scientists have sequenced the genome of the most widespread species of giant clam, Tridacna maxima, to reveal how these creatures adapted their genome to coexist with algae living inside them.
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NewsReading the genome and understanding evolution: Symbioses and gene transfer in leaf beetles
A new study shows how repeated horizontal gene transfer and the establishment of symbioses with bacteria enabled leaf beetles to rapidly adapt to a plant-based diet, contributing to their remarkable evolutionary success.
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NewsDeep-sea corals are home to previously unknown bacteria with extremely small genomes
Scientists have discovered two highly unusual bacterial species in the tissue of deep-sea corals from the Gulf of Mexico. The previously unknown coral symbionts have an extremely reduced genome and lack the ability to obtain energy from carbohydrates.
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NewsWater fern offers safe potential global food insecurity solution - with no cyanotoxins
An international effort to test Azolla found that it does not contain cyanotoxins, potent toxins produced by a type of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, associated with the plant.
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NewsStudy yields evidence of oldest confirmed photosymbiosis in corals
Researchers have demonstrated, using nitrogen isotope analyses, that some extinct corals from the Middle Devonian period were already symbiotic. This represents geochemical evidence of the oldest confirmed photosymbiosis in corals.
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NewsSymbiotic bacterium affects reproduction of biological control insect
Researchers have revealed that the symbiotic bacterium Rickettsia induces strong cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) in the predatory mirid bug, Nesidiocoris tenuis, which preys on agricultural pests such as whiteflies and thrips.
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NewsResearchers create new framework to understand how microbial communities emerge
Virtually all multicellular organisms on Earth live in symbiotic associations with very large and complex microbial communities known as microbiomes. New research has just been published aimed at offering a complete understanding how those relationships form.
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NewsHijacking the command center of the cell: nuclear parasites in deep-sea mussels
Researchers have revealed how a bacterial parasite thrives inside the nuclei of deep-sea mussels, a remarkable feat given that the nucleus is the control center of the cell.
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NewsFungal discovery changes the way we understand Charles Darwin’s most beloved plant – the sundew
A new study has uncovered a symbiotic relationship that has evolved between Darwin’s favourite carnivorous plant and a specific type of fungus which lives inside it and helps it digest its prey.
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NewsTicks’ secret allies: Bacteria’s hidden hand in tick survival
A new study of the relationship between the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and its Coxiella-like symbiotic bacteria reveals the bacteria help the ticks by providing essential B vitamins and possibly other nutrients like L-proline.
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NewsWarming stops tiny organisms working together
The single-celled organism Paramecium bursaria can absorb and host algae (Chlorella spp), providing benefits for both, but when scientists made the water 5°C warmer, the partnership stopped working – and the algae may even become parasitic.
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NewsResearcher to study role of tiny diatoms in protecting endangered marine animals
A new study is aimed at understanding the essential role played by diatoms, tiny microalgae that can live in oceans or in symbiosis with endangered marine animal hosts and play a fundamental role in maintaining Earth’s delicate ecosystem.
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NewsStudy reveals close host–symbiont interactions in deep-sea chemosynthetic tubeworm
Researchers developed a deep-sea in situ single-cell fixation system, enabling them to analyze the trophosome of the deep-sea tubeworm Paraescarpia echinospica.
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NewsLong-standing marine mystery solved: How algae get nitrogen to grow
In a new study, scientists have shed light on an unexpected partnership: a marine diatom and a bacterium that can account for a large share of nitrogen fixation in vast regions of the ocean.
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NewsWe should help coral microbial symbionts evolve heat tolerance in the lab, researchers say
Researchers discuss the potential of improving corals’ chances by inducing the evolution of heat tolerance in their symbionts—the mutualistic microbes that provide corals with nutrients in exchange for shelter and that are expelled during coral bleaching.