Symbiosis is a broad ecological topic encompassing the diverse spectrum of long-term interspecific interactions, including mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism, defined by close physical or functional association between organisms. Research on symbiosis addresses mechanisms of partner recognition, metabolic and genetic integration, coevolutionary dynamics, and the regulation of costs and benefits across environmental gradients. It spans macro- and micro-organism interactions, such as plant-microbe, animal-microbe, and microbial consortia, and is central to understanding community assembly, niche construction, holobiont concepts, and stability–resilience properties of ecosystems, as well as informing models of evolutionary innovation and functional diversification within and across trophic levels.
Most plants do not gather nutrients from the soil entirely on their own. Many form partnerships with microscopic fungi that grow inside their roots and extend into the surrounding soil. These partnerships, known as arbuscular ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Oct 21, 2026
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Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering mustard plant used worldwide as the primary genetic model in plant biology, was long believed incapable of forming relationships with underground fungal networks. New research published ...
Ecology
Oct 16, 2026
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153
A research team led by professor Qian Peiyuan, chair professor in the Department of Ocean Science at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with international partners, has made progress ...
Ecology
Oct 7, 2026
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14
A typical scene at a local farmers market: Various stalls offer fruit, vegetables and much more. Every customer has their favorite stalls, though these may change occasionally. Some symbiotic relationships seem to work just ...
Ecology
Oct 6, 2026
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13
While insects provide an essential food source for many vertebrate species, they're more than just a protein-laden snack. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, and herons use them as fishing bait. Sloths rely on moths ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 30, 2026
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37
Lichens colonize trees and rocks all over the world. They are symbiotic communities between fungi and photosynthetically active green algae or cyanobacteria, in which both partners benefit from each other: The fungal partner ...
Ecology
Sep 16, 2026
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28
Scientists have discovered that one of the most unusual creatures in the animal kingdom is far more diverse and evolutionarily complex than previously known. An international team led by the University of Göttingen has reconstructed ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 7, 2026
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15
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 ...
Ecology
Sep 4, 2026
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26
We often think of microbes as organisms that live around us, like the Salmonella bacteria and flu viruses that cause illness. But some of our most intimate relationships are with the microbes living inside us.
Evolution
Sep 2, 2026
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34
From project to product—such success stories are rare in basic agricultural research. In this case, researchers at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) in Braunschweig discovered a new species of nodule-forming bacteria at the ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 10, 2026
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