Japanese Researchers Isolate 2 Archaea Strains Linked to Eukaryote Origins
Updated
Updated · Nippon.com · Oct 29
Japanese Researchers Isolate 2 Archaea Strains Linked to Eukaryote Origins
1 articles · Updated · Nippon.com · Oct 29
Summary
Two archaea strains isolated from a methane production well in Chiba showed traits of the microbes thought to be closest relatives of eukaryotes, offering fresh clues to how complex cells emerged.
The Japanese team found the single-celled organisms have spherical bodies and many long, thin protrusions used for movement and for capturing methanogens to exchange substances in symbiosis.
The strains appear to feed by absorbing and breaking down proteins from other microbes' remains and secretions, helping explain how such archaea may have survived while interacting closely with partners.
Published in Nature, the findings bear on a leading theory that mitochondria began as independent organisms taken inside archaea, a step seen as crucial to the rise of plants and animals.