Researchers have discovered that the cyanobacteria species UCYN-A, in a symbiotic relationship with marine algae, is exhibiting characteristics of evolving into nitrogen-fixing organelles. This breakthrough suggests a new perspective on the early stages of organelle evolution and the potential for significant advancements in understanding cellular evolution.
Nitrogen is a nutrient essential for all life on Earth. Despite the abundance of nitrogen gas in the atmosphere, it remains largely inaccessible to many life forms until it undergoes nitrogen fixation. This vital process transforms dinitrogen into ammonium, an important source of inorganic nitrogen.
While there are bacteria that are able to reduce dinitrogen to ammonium, researchers at the University of Rhode Island, Institut de Ciències del Mar in Barcelona, University of California at Santa Cruz, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered nitrogen-fixing symbiotic organisms exhibiting behaviors similar to organelles. In fact, researchers posit these symbiotic organisms – UCYN-A, ain areas of the open ocean that are often low in nutrients.
The study details how researchers found a size relationship between UCYN-A and their symbiotic partner cells – consistent with the size relationships between other organelles and their hosts. As organelles get larger, so do their host cells – eventually dividing and replicating. Mathematical modeling revealed the metabolic trade-offs which regulate the relative cell size through nutrient acquisition and exchange.
“Our study focuses on a much more recent symbiotic relationship that emerged about 100 million years ago, allowing us to explore the evolution of organelle formation in its early stages,” explained Francisco Cornejo, co-lead author and postdoc researcher in the department of marine biology and oceanography at the Institut de Ciències del Mar.“The surprisingly tight size relationship between UCYN-A and its host can be explained by the resource economy of the partners.
Cyanobacteria UCYN-A Nitrogen-Fixing Organelles Symbiotic Relationship Marine Algae Cellular Evolution
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