Differentiation of a free-living alga into forms with ecto- and endosymbiotic associations with heterotrophic organisms in a 5-year microcosm culture

Nakajima, Toshiyuki; Fujikawa, Yoshiyuki; Matsubara, Tomio; Karita, M.; Sano, Akiko

doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2015.03.005

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Recent experimental results support the theory that unilateral or mutual exploitation can also serve as the basis of endosymbiosis [58,147]. Experiments with unicellular eukaryotes feeding accidentally on algae can result in highly dependent endosymbiosis in a resource-fluctuating environment [148]. It is not clear whether the alga receives any metabolic help in exchange of its photosynthate [149], though they can benefit indirectly from the partnership if this is their only chance to survive a harsh environment.…”

Section: A Continuum Between Exploitation and Mutualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endosymbiosis before eukaryotes: mitochondrial establishment in protoeukaryotes

Zachar

Boza

2020

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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Endosymbiosis and organellogenesis are virtually unknown among prokaryotes. The single presumed example is the endosymbiogenetic origin of mitochondria, which is hidden behind the event horizon of the last eukaryotic common ancestor. While eukaryotes are monophyletic, it is unlikely that during billions of years, there were no other prokaryote-prokaryote endosymbioses as symbiosis is extremely common among prokaryotes, e.g., in biofilms. Therefore, it is even more precarious to draw conclusions about potentially existing (or once existing) prokaryotic endosymbioses based on a single example.It is yet unknown if the bacterial endosymbiont was captured by a prokaryote or by a (proto-)eukaryote, and if the process of internalization was parasitic infection, slow engulfment, or phagocytosis. In this review, we accordingly explore multiple mechanisms and processes that could drive the evolution of unicellular microbial symbioses with a special attention to prokaryote-prokaryote interactions and to the mitochondrion, possibly the single prokaryotic endosymbiosis that turned out to be a major evolutionary transition. We investigate the ecology and evolutionary stability of inter-species microbial interactions based on dependence, physical proximity, cost-benefit budget, and the types of benefits, investments, and controls. We identify challenges that had to be conquered for the mitochondrial host to establish a stable eukaryotic lineage. Any assumption about the initial interaction of the mitochondrial ancestor and its contemporary host based solely on their modern relationship is rather perilous. As a result, we warn against assuming an initial mutually beneficial interaction based on modern mitochondria-host cooperation. This assumption is twice fallacious: (i) endosymbioses are known to evolve from exploitative interactions and (ii) cooperativity does not necessarily lead to stable mutualism. We point out that the lack of evidence so far on the evolution of endosymbiosis from mutual syntrophy supports the idea that mitochondria emerged from an exploitative (parasitic or phagotrophic) interaction rather than from syntrophy.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Section: A Continuum Between Exploitation and Mutualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endosymbiosis before eukaryotes: mitochondrial establishment in protoeukaryotes

Zachar

Boza

2020

Cell. Mol. Life Sci.

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“…More recently, Nakajima et al (2009, 2015) established long-term microcosms containing a green alga ( Micractinium sp., formally Chlorella vulgaris) , a bacterium ( Escherichia coli ), and a ciliate ( Tetrahymena thermophila) . The experiment was maintained without external addition of resources and without transfer to fresh medium for over five years and therefore formed a self-sustaining ecosystem.…”

Section: Exploitation In Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of exploitation in the establishment of mutualistic microbial symbioses

Sørensen

Lowe

Minter

et al. 2019

FEMS Microbiology Letters

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Evolutionary theory suggests that the conditions required for the establishment of mutualistic symbioses through mutualism alone are highly restrictive, often requiring the evolution of complex stabilising mechanisms. Exploitation, whereby initially the host benefits at the expense of its symbiotic partner and mutual benefits evolve subsequently through trade-offs, offers an arguably simpler route to the establishment of mutualistic symbiosis. In this review, we discuss the theoretical and experimental evidence supporting a role for host exploitation in the establishment and evolution of mutualistic microbial symbioses, including data from both extant and experimentally evolved symbioses. We conclude that exploitation rather than mutualism may often explain the origin of mutualistic microbial symbioses.

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“…Other scientists have claimed that coevolution was occurring based on codiversification or correlations between traits of interacting species, but this could result from two species adapting in parallel to similar changes in an environment . In microorganisms, intergenomic epistasis and adaptation to a mutualist partner have been observed, but ongoing coevolution in mutualism has rarely been described …”

Section: Coevolution Of Mutualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 In microorganisms, intergenomic epistasis and adaptation to a mutualist partner have been observed, but ongoing coevolution in mutualism has rarely been described. [10][11][12]110 This work suggests that coevolution can shape mutualisms and continue to affect their evolution, but it is far from providing a clear picture of when and how it will happen in diverse species. Achieving this will require more theoretical work focused on coevolution in mutualism, along with rigorous experiments that test those theories.…”

Section: Coevolution Of Mutualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution on the bright side of life: microorganisms and the evolution of mutualism

Hillesland

2017

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Mutualistic interactions, where two interacting species have a net beneficial effect on each other's fitness, play a crucial role in the survival and evolution of many species. Despite substantial empirical and theoretical work in past decades, the impact of these interactions on natural selection is not fully understood. In addition, mutualisms between microorganisms have been largely ignored, even though they are ecologically important and can be used as tools to bridge the gap between theory and empirical work. Here, I describe two problems with our current understanding of natural selection in mutualism and highlight the properties of microbial mutualisms that could help solve them. One problem is that bias and methodological problems have limited our understanding of the variety of mechanisms by which species may adapt to mutualism. Another problem is that it is rare for experiments testing coevolution in mutualism to address whether each species has adapted to evolutionary changes in its partner. These problems can be addressed with genome resequencing and time-shift experiments, techniques that are easier to perform in microorganisms. In addition, microbial mutualisms may inspire novel insights and hypotheses about natural selection in mutualism.

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Differentiation of a free-living alga into forms with ecto- and endosymbiotic associations with heterotrophic organisms in a 5-year microcosm culture

Cited by 14 publications

References 51 publications

Endosymbiosis before eukaryotes: mitochondrial establishment in protoeukaryotes

Endosymbiosis before eukaryotes: mitochondrial establishment in protoeukaryotes

The role of exploitation in the establishment of mutualistic microbial symbioses

Evolution on the bright side of life: microorganisms and the evolution of mutualism

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