News Headline

Parasite manipulates algal metabolism for its own benefit

Source
Phys.org

Publication Date
2019-10-30

Microalgae can form massive assemblages in oceans, attracting many opportunistic organisms; these are capable of eliminating the entire algal population within a short time. However, the underlying mechanisms of this watery arms race are largely unknown. In a new publication in Nature Communications, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and the universities of Jena and Frankfurt show that a pathogenic fungus alters the metabolism of its host unicellular algae for its own purposes: The bioactive substances that are formed in the process benefit the fungi's own propagation while preventing the algae from proliferating. Eventually, the algae shrink and die.

Content
https://phys.org/news/2019-10-parasite-algal-metabolism-benefit.html