Scientists Re-Create the Conditions That Sparked Complex Life
1 min read
Summary
The endosymbiotic process has led to the evolution of complex life forms, whereby free-living bacteria have merged with other microorganisms to create new, more advanced, life forms.
While examples of this process are everywhere, from mitochondria in human cells to nitroplasts in algae, the conditions under which it happens are not fully understood.
Now, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have induced endosymbiosis in the lab, injecting bacteria into a fungus to study the process.
This opens up new possible avenues of research for scientists, who now better understand the mechanisms of the process, and could allow them to engineer cells with superpowered endosymbionts.