🦠 Scientists recreate life's most important microbial interaction

• Scientists have for the first time managed to observe how a bacterium begins living inside a fungal cell, a phenomenon called endosymbiosis.
• Within ten generations, both the fungus and bacteria had genetically adapted to each other and begun to cooperate.
• The results provide new understanding of how complex life has evolved. Many of the cell's important components, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, were once independent bacteria that began living inside other cells.

How the experiment was conducted

Using a bicycle pump and specially constructed microneedles, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich succeeded in introducing bacteria into fungal cells. They chose to work with the fungus Rhizopus microsporus and the bacterium Mycetohabitans rhizoxinica, as these organisms already live in symbiosis in nature.

To get the bacteria through the fungal cell wall, the researchers first developed a mixture of enzymes that softened the wall. They then used an atomic force microscope equipped with FluidFM technology that functioned as a microsyringe. The pressure from a regular bicycle pump made it possible to overcome the cell's internal pressure and insert the bacteria.

Rapid adaptation between organisms

Once inside the fungal cell, the bacteria began reproducing at a rate that was beneficial for both organisms. The bacteria managed to avoid the fungus's immune system and entered the fungal spores, allowing them to be passed on to the next generation.

The researchers followed the development through ten generations of fungi. With each new generation, more bacteria survived and the spores became healthier and more efficient. Genetic analyses showed that both the fungal and bacterial genomes had changed to adapt to their coexistence.

New knowledge about life's evolution

The experiment shows that endosymbiosis can be established faster than researchers previously thought. This is the first time that researchers have been able to observe the entire process in a laboratory.

The results provide new understanding of how complex life has evolved. Many of the cell's important components, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, were once independent bacteria that began living inside other cells.

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