462: Super Ciliate Symbiont Set

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




 


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com. Thanks for listening!


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