Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Evolutionary Crime of Holding Algae Captive


Protozoa, apparently, "captured" algae millions of years ago, and used their genes for energy production. The result was a more powerful organism, which actually serves as the "missing link" in the evolutionary chain we have constructed today.

The genes of algae allowed protozoa to perform photosynthesis, and thus produce easy energy using sunlight. This was evidenced by frozen protozoa's dual nuclei cell structure, manifesting both its own and algae's.

The relationship with mutual, known as endosymbiosis, in which algae was literally living in the protozoa, and the sugars protozoa created through respiration were shared with the algae living inside of it.

Over millions of years, the organism eventually became one - the missing link in evolution.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-11/uom-ahc112812.php

No comments:

Post a Comment