This is technically old news but still pretty exciting: back in '98 scientists discovered this unicellular organism from the Late Cretaceous period, Braarudosphaera bigelowii, that had a completely different unicellular bacteria in it called Atelocyanobacterium thalassa. Cut to 2024 and we finally have a definitive answer for what those two are doing: A. thalassa actually functions as an organelle for B. bigelowii that converts nitrogen in the atmosphere into ammonium that can be converted into energy, and B. bigelowii in turn provides A. thalassa with an oxygenated environment in which to live.
All life on earth needs nitrogen to live, but they also mostly need oxygen, and oxygen is able to block the necessary receptors to allow for nitrogen intake. If we are able to introduce A. thalassa into plant cells, for example, this GMO would be able to survive without the need for pollutants like nitrogen-rich fertilizers.
All life on earth needs nitrogen to live, but they also mostly need oxygen, and oxygen is able to block the necessary receptors to allow for nitrogen intake. If we are able to introduce A. thalassa into plant cells, for example, this GMO would be able to survive without the need for pollutants like nitrogen-rich fertilizers.
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