Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists, but true "flexitarians": A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine - and presumably do that to…
Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists, but true "flexitarians": A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine - and presumably do that to…
Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists, but true "flexitarians": A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine - and presumably do that to…
Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists, but true "flexitarians": A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine - and presumably do that to…
Nature, Published online: 01 July 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02007-4 Buchnera bacteria that live in the cells of insects known as aphids secrete a protein called SyeA, which is crucial for colonization. The structural similarity of SyeA to proteins secreted by disease-causing bacteria indicates that the beneficial symbiotic relationship between Buchnera and aphids had pathogenic origins.
Associations between hosts and their microbial symbionts are considered mutualistic when both partners benefit. While the advantages received by eukaryotic hosts from association with bacterial symbionts are frequently examined, benefits to the bacteria are rarely experimentally tested. Here, we consider whether the bug-Caballeronia symbiosis is truly mutualistic by measuring the effect of a leaf…
Humanity may not be extraordinary but rather the natural evolutionary outcome for our planet and likely others, according to a new model for how intelligent life developed on Earth.
The clownfish-anemone living arrangement is one of the most widely recognized examples of symbiosis. Researchers have made a breakthrough in understanding how anemonefish can live safely among sea anemones without bei…
