Schematic evolutionary tree of the 5 microbial species included in the study. From left to right: Trimastix marina, Paratrimastix pyriformis, Blattamonas nauphoetae, Streblomastix strix, and ...

In new research published this week, a team led by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) scientists reveals that symbiotic bacteria often accompany single-celled protists in the ocean's upper layer.

Single-celled protists like this Euplotes sp. are found in freshwater habitats worldwide and contribute to climate change by releasing carbon dioxide through respiration, a process that is ...

The researchers also discovered key differences in transcription factors and tyrosine kinases, suggesting that the amoeba’s proteins were being modified just as proteins are in distinct cell ...

The short answer is they stole it, about a billion and a half years ago, when single-celled organisms called protists engulfed photosynthesizing bacteria. Over time, through the transfer of genes ...

“These single-cell organisms can do things that we assume ... Little work has been done to explore why the protists form these colonies. Dr. Shekhar and his colleagues first examined the ...