Biology

Blogs about biology

A predatory protist (Photo courtesy Camille Poirier and David Needham, Worden Lab)

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An article published in the journal “Cell Host & Microbe” reports the results of a study on the widespread symbiosis between predatory protists and bacteria related to species that are pathogenic to various animal species and sometimes to humans. A team of researchers led by scientists from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) conducted a series of analyses on water samples collected at the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the North Atlantic and identified protists that have predatory habits that eat some species of bacteria but are in symbiosis with other species. The results suggest a long and complex history of relationships that sometimes are symbiosis and sometimes are parasitism by bacteria with animals and choanoflagellates, the closest relatives of animals among eukaryotes.

Colony of Salpingoeca rosetta

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the results of a study on microbes of the species Salpingoeca rosetta that offers evidence that individuals exchange electrical signals they use to coordinate their behaviors. Jeffrey Colgren and Pawel Burkhardt of the Michael Sars Centre at the University of Bergen, Norway, used a newly developed genetic tool to examine the behaviors of colonies of these microbes that belong to the group of choanoflagellates (Choanoflagellata), the eukaryotes most closely related to animals.

Tea plantations in the Baisha Li Autonomous County of Hainan (Photo STW932)

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An article published in the journal “Agrobiodiversity” reports the results of a genetic study of the tea plant of the Chinese island of Hainan that indicates that this type of the Camellia sinensis species has an origin that is independent from the other varieties. A team of researchers performed a complete DNA sequencing of the Hainan tea plant to compare it with the DNA of the other types. Knowing the origin of this type of tea offers, among other things, useful indications for its conservation and improvement of its cultivation.

The rock sample that was analyzed in this study revealing the presence of microorganisms that remained isolated within it

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An article published in the journal “Microbial Ecology” reports the discovery of living microorganisms in rocks dating back about two billion years taken in the Bushveld Igneous Complex (BIC) in South Africa. A team of researchers led by the University of Tokyo analyzed rock samples taken from about 15 meters underground in an area that constitutes one of the largest known layered igneous formations.

That area is known for the presence of precious metals but for once, the discovered treasure is in the form of microorganisms that remained isolated in a sealed fracture in the rock. They’re interesting because they have evolved very little over time and offer interesting information for the search for alien life as well, for example, on the planet Mars.

Sugarcane plant in Mozambique

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An article published in the journal “Nature” reports the results of a high-quality sequencing of sugarcane DNA. The name generally refers to the Saccharum officinarum species but actually, the cultivars are hybrids with the Saccharum spontaneum species, sometimes called wild sugarcane. The polyploid sugarcane genome has become one of the most complex known, which is why it’s been so difficult to completely sequence. Now a team of researchers combined different genetic techniques to obtain the genome of the variety referred to as R570, a typically modern cultivar.