#protists — Public Fediverse posts

@PoLaRobs @shelfyice
May I never stop being amazed at the intersections of geophysical and biological sciences #foramenifera #protists #ice

@PoLaRobs @shelfyice
May I never stop being amazed at the intersections of geophysical and biological sciences #foramenifera #protists #ice

@PoLaRobs @shelfyice
May I never stop being amazed at the intersections of geophysical and biological sciences #foramenifera #protists #ice

@PoLaRobs @shelfyice
May I never stop being amazed at the intersections of geophysical and biological sciences #foramenifera #protists #ice

@PoLaRobs @shelfyice
May I never stop being amazed at the intersections of geophysical and biological sciences #foramenifera #protists #ice

Shelled #amoeba crawls like an octopus, shifting tactics on the go https://phys.org/news/2026-01-shelled-amoeba-octopus-shifting-tactics.html https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/pjab/advpub/0/advpub_pjab.102.001/_html/-char/en

"Commonly found in #peatlands and freshwater environments, #Arcella belongs to a group called testate #amoebae, characterized by having its body enclosed, almost entirely, within a dome-shaped shell... Through an opening on its underside, Arcella can mold its cell body to create finger-like projections called #pseudopodia to capture prey and move around."

#Protists #Microbes

Shelled #amoeba crawls like an octopus, shifting tactics on the go https://phys.org/news/2026-01-shelled-amoeba-octopus-shifting-tactics.html https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/pjab/advpub/0/advpub_pjab.102.001/_html/-char/en

"Commonly found in #peatlands and freshwater environments, #Arcella belongs to a group called testate #amoebae, characterized by having its body enclosed, almost entirely, within a dome-shaped shell... Through an opening on its underside, Arcella can mold its cell body to create finger-like projections called #pseudopodia to capture prey and move around."

#Protists #Microbes

Shelled #amoeba crawls like an octopus, shifting tactics on the go https://phys.org/news/2026-01-shelled-amoeba-octopus-shifting-tactics.html https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/pjab/advpub/0/advpub_pjab.102.001/_html/-char/en

"Commonly found in #peatlands and freshwater environments, #Arcella belongs to a group called testate #amoebae, characterized by having its body enclosed, almost entirely, within a dome-shaped shell... Through an opening on its underside, Arcella can mold its cell body to create finger-like projections called #pseudopodia to capture prey and move around."

#Protists #Microbes

Shelled #amoeba crawls like an octopus, shifting tactics on the go https://phys.org/news/2026-01-shelled-amoeba-octopus-shifting-tactics.html https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/pjab/advpub/0/advpub_pjab.102.001/_html/-char/en

"Commonly found in #peatlands and freshwater environments, #Arcella belongs to a group called testate #amoebae, characterized by having its body enclosed, almost entirely, within a dome-shaped shell... Through an opening on its underside, Arcella can mold its cell body to create finger-like projections called #pseudopodia to capture prey and move around."

#Protists #Microbes

Humanity should not expect to be able to communicate with extraterrestrial life, considering that there are hardly any life forms on Earth that we are able to fully communicate with. How many species of plants, bacteria, archea, or protists can humans fully communicate with?
#aliens #extraterrestrials #firstcontact #language #interspeciescommunication #animals #plants #bacteria #archea #protists #humans #intelligentlife

🦠 Are tiny gut protists rewriting what we know about “good” and “bad” microbes?

🔗 Structure analysis of human gut microbiota associated with single-celled gut protists using Next-Generation Sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2025.06.006

📚 CSBJ: https://www.csbj.org/

#Microbiome #GutHealth #Metagenomics #Protists #Blastocystis #Giardia #NGS #Microbiota #MicrobialEcology #NGS #ComputationalBiology #MolecularBiology

So you think you understand everything about #Chlamydomonas photoresponses? think again! #protists #behaviour #cilia To explain how Chlamy switches handedness from swimming in CCW circles in low-light to CW in high-light... see our new preprint led by Alan Tsang (HKU) 👇 doi.org/10.1101/2025...

After 7,000 years without light and oxygen in #BalticSea mud, researchers bring prehistoric #algae back to life https://phys.org/news/2025-03-years-oxygen-baltic-sea-mud.html

Resurrection of a #diatom after 7000 years from anoxic Baltic Sea sediment: Sarah Bolius et al. https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/19/1/wrae252/7942337

"Such deposits are like a time capsule containing valuable information about past ecosystems and the inhabiting biological communities, their population development and genetic changes"

#Protists #Diatoms #Microbes

Stemonitopsis typhina different stages of life cycle - slime mold on a rotting poplar tree

Olympus OM1
Olympus M.60mm F2.8 Macro
Kenko extension tubes

#slimemold #biology #macrophotography #macrophoto #nature #protists #OMsystem #OlympusOM1 #myxomycetes

Semicircle of Stemonitopsis typhina

slime mold on a rotting poplar tree

Olympus OM1
Olympus M.60mm F2.8 Macro
Kenko extension tubes

#slimemold #macrophotography #biology #omsystem #protista #protists

Stemonitopsis typhina on a rotting poplar tree

Olympus OM-1
M.Zuiko 60mm f2.8 macro
Kenko extension tubes

#slimemold #protista #nature #olympusom1 #omsystem #macrophotography #myxomycetes #protists

Wonderful discovery for #protists #independentresearch #microscopy #microbiology folks. Check out a new zine called "Amoeba Discovery":

https://stefanluketa.com/amoeba-discovery/

I never thought very much about protists/amoebas, and reading this volume was a fascinating introduction to what seems to be an understudied field.

Now I'm wondering how I might isolate and sequence some interesting samples!

@foaylward

Pink snow tints the edges of Antarctica https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-03-24/pink-snow-tints-the-edges-of-antarctica.html

"The #algae that covers Mount Reina Sofía in patches is Sanguina nivaloides, a species first described in 2019. The meaning of its scientific name in Latin is eloquent: blood in the snow. Each creature has a single cell, about 20 thousandths of a millimeter in size, with a molecule inside that gives it its characteristic red color: #astaxanthin... the same pigment that produces the color of salmon"

#Antarctica #Protists #Microbes

Ancient marine organism's dual-layer structure reveals both past and present ocean environments https://phys.org/news/2025-02-ancient-marine-dual-layer-reveals.html

A cosmopolitan calcifying benthic #foraminifera in agglutinated disguise as a geochemical recorder of coastal environments https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2413054122

"This species has a remarkable hidden feature—an inner shell made of calcium carbonate beneath its outer layer of gathered particles... [this] made them an excellent recorder of environmental conditions."

#Protists #Microbes

Ciliates party hard in my hay infusion even on a Sunday morning.

#ciliates #protists #microscope #microscopy

New research on #protists sheds light on #DeepSea energy sources https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/foraminifer/

Array of metabolic pathways in kleptoplastidic #foraminifera supports #chemoautotrophy in dark, euxinic seafloor sediments https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/19/1/wrae248/7923457 by Fatma Gomaa et al.

"This species takes up unrelated organism’s #chloroplasts — #organelles that perform #photosynthesis... We know #kleptoplasty is happening here, but we needed to understand why this foraminifer is so successful in the dark, without oxygen"

New research on #protists sheds light on #DeepSea energy sources https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/foraminifer/

Array of metabolic pathways in kleptoplastidic #foraminifera supports #chemoautotrophy in dark, euxinic seafloor sediments https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/19/1/wrae248/7923457 by Fatma Gomaa et al.

"This species takes up unrelated organism’s #chloroplasts — #organelles that perform #photosynthesis... We know #kleptoplasty is happening here, but we needed to understand why this foraminifer is so successful in the dark, without oxygen"

New research on #protists sheds light on #DeepSea energy sources https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/foraminifer/

Array of metabolic pathways in kleptoplastidic #foraminifera supports #chemoautotrophy in dark, euxinic seafloor sediments https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/19/1/wrae248/7923457 by Fatma Gomaa et al.

"This species takes up unrelated organism’s #chloroplasts — #organelles that perform #photosynthesis... We know #kleptoplasty is happening here, but we needed to understand why this foraminifer is so successful in the dark, without oxygen"

New research on #protists sheds light on #DeepSea energy sources https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/foraminifer/

Array of metabolic pathways in kleptoplastidic #foraminifera supports #chemoautotrophy in dark, euxinic seafloor sediments https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/19/1/wrae248/7923457 by Fatma Gomaa et al.

"This species takes up unrelated organism’s #chloroplasts — #organelles that perform #photosynthesis... We know #kleptoplasty is happening here, but we needed to understand why this foraminifer is so successful in the dark, without oxygen"

New research on #protists sheds light on #DeepSea energy sources https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/foraminifer/

Array of metabolic pathways in kleptoplastidic #foraminifera supports #chemoautotrophy in dark, euxinic seafloor sediments https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/19/1/wrae248/7923457 by Fatma Gomaa et al.

"This species takes up unrelated organism’s #chloroplasts — #organelles that perform #photosynthesis... We know #kleptoplasty is happening here, but we needed to understand why this foraminifer is so successful in the dark, without oxygen"

Tiny microbe colonies communicate to coordinate their behavior https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/175104/tiny-microbe-colonies-communicate-coordinate-their-behavior

Electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in the closest relative of animals https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr7434

"A new study reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in #choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of #animals. This elaborate example of cell communication offers key insights into the early #evolution of animal #multicellularity and nervous systems."

#Protists #Microbes

Tiny microbe colonies communicate to coordinate their behavior https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/175104/tiny-microbe-colonies-communicate-coordinate-their-behavior

Electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in the closest relative of animals https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr7434

"A new study reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in #choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of #animals. This elaborate example of cell communication offers key insights into the early #evolution of animal #multicellularity and nervous systems."

#Protists #Microbes

Tiny microbe colonies communicate to coordinate their behavior https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/175104/tiny-microbe-colonies-communicate-coordinate-their-behavior

Electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in the closest relative of animals https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr7434

"A new study reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in #choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of #animals. This elaborate example of cell communication offers key insights into the early #evolution of animal #multicellularity and nervous systems."

#Protists #Microbes

Tiny microbe colonies communicate to coordinate their behavior https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/175104/tiny-microbe-colonies-communicate-coordinate-their-behavior

Electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in the closest relative of animals https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr7434

"A new study reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in #choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of #animals. This elaborate example of cell communication offers key insights into the early #evolution of animal #multicellularity and nervous systems."

#Protists #Microbes

Tiny microbe colonies communicate to coordinate their behavior https://www.uib.no/en/michaelsarscentre/175104/tiny-microbe-colonies-communicate-coordinate-their-behavior

Electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in the closest relative of animals https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr7434

"A new study reveals evidence of electrical signaling and coordinated behavior in #choanoflagellates, the closest living relatives of #animals. This elaborate example of cell communication offers key insights into the early #evolution of animal #multicellularity and nervous systems."

#Protists #Microbes

Giant virus encodes key piece of protein-making machinery of cellular life

"Viruses are integral to the functioning of ocean ecosystems, influencing biological productivity, shifting community interactions, and driving evolutionary change," 

https://phys.org/news/2024-12-giant-virus-encodes-key-piece.html

#viruses #microbiology #GiantViruses #protists

#Phytochromes: The 'eyes' that enable #microalgae to find their way in aquatic depths https://phys.org/news/2024-12-phytochromes-eyes-enable-microalgae-aquatic.html

#Diatom phytochromes integrate the underwater light spectrum to sense depth: Carole Duchêne et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08301-3

"These photoreceptors enable them to detect changes in the light spectrum in the water column, thereby providing information regarding their vertical position within it."

#Protists #Algae #Diatoms #Microbes #Plankton #Biology #Phytoplankton

This #amoeba eats prey like #owls do https://www.sciencenews.org/article/amoeba-eats-removes-shell

The vampyrellid amoeba #Strigomyxa ruptor gen. et sp. nov. and its remarkable strategy to acquire algal cell contents https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.70191

"The microscopic predator engulfs #algae, drains the cells and spits out the shell"

#Protists #Amoebae #Microbes #Biology

Research reveals even single-cell organisms exhibit habituation, a simple form of learning https://phys.org/news/2024-11-reveals-cell-habituation-simple.html

Biochemically plausible models of habituation for single-cell learning: Lina Eckert et al. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)01430-1

"Earlier work found that a single-cell ciliate showed avoidance behavior, not unlike the actions observed in animals that encounter unpleasant stimuli."

#Protists #Microbes #Ciliates

It's time to consider the Arcellinida shell as a weapon https://www.isep-protists.com/post/arcellinida-shell-weapon

"why is there such a large morphological diversity in shell-bearing #amoebae and what is the function of shells anyway? We knew for a long time that #Arcellinida are masters of the #cytoskeleton as they use it to build their elaborate shells. It was unknown that they use both, the cytoskeleton and shell, in combination to function as small apex #predators in their systems."

#Protists #ISEPpapers #Microbes

Advanced genetic techniques and #microscopy offer new insights into anaerobic ciliate and methanogen #symbiosis https://phys.org/news/2024-10-advanced-genetic-techniques-microscopy-insights.html

Methanogenic #symbionts of anaerobic #ciliates are host and habitat specific https://academic.oup.com/ismej/article/18/1/wrae164/7737421 #ISEPpapers by @joro

"This study provides a clearer understanding of how anaerobic ciliates have evolved a mix transmission mode to both maintain and replace their symbionts over time"

#microbes #protists #bacteria #archaea #methanogenesis #biology

Scientists discover more #mitochondria-like #symbionts with surprising metabolic capacities https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-mitochondria-symbionts-metabolic-capacities.html

Genetic potential for aerobic respiration and #denitrification in globally distributed respiratory #endosymbionts https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54047-x

"They found a unique #bacterium that lives inside a ciliate (#protists) and provides it with energy... reminiscent of #mitochondria, with the key difference that the #endosymbiont derives energy from the respiration of nitrate, not oxygen."

Scientists discover more #mitochondria-like #symbionts with surprising metabolic capacities https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-mitochondria-symbionts-metabolic-capacities.html

Genetic potential for aerobic respiration and #denitrification in globally distributed respiratory #endosymbionts https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54047-x

"They found a unique #bacterium that lives inside a ciliate (#protists) and provides it with energy... reminiscent of #mitochondria, with the key difference that the #endosymbiont derives energy from the respiration of nitrate, not oxygen."

Scientists discover more #mitochondria-like #symbionts with surprising metabolic capacities https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-mitochondria-symbionts-metabolic-capacities.html

Genetic potential for aerobic respiration and #denitrification in globally distributed respiratory #endosymbionts https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54047-x

"They found a unique #bacterium that lives inside a ciliate (#protists) and provides it with energy... reminiscent of #mitochondria, with the key difference that the #endosymbiont derives energy from the respiration of nitrate, not oxygen."

Scientists discover more #mitochondria-like #symbionts with surprising metabolic capacities https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-mitochondria-symbionts-metabolic-capacities.html

Genetic potential for aerobic respiration and #denitrification in globally distributed respiratory #endosymbionts https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54047-x

"They found a unique #bacterium that lives inside a ciliate (#protists) and provides it with energy... reminiscent of #mitochondria, with the key difference that the #endosymbiont derives energy from the respiration of nitrate, not oxygen."

Scientists discover more #mitochondria-like #symbionts with surprising metabolic capacities https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-mitochondria-symbionts-metabolic-capacities.html

Genetic potential for aerobic respiration and #denitrification in globally distributed respiratory #endosymbionts https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54047-x

"They found a unique #bacterium that lives inside a ciliate (#protists) and provides it with energy... reminiscent of #mitochondria, with the key difference that the #endosymbiont derives energy from the respiration of nitrate, not oxygen."

A single cell's siesta: How non-moving #microbes manage to avoid bright light https://phys.org/news/2024-11-cell-siesta-celled-bright.html

Light-regulated #chloroplast morphodynamics in a single-celled dinoflagellate https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2411725121

"The structure that allows the chloroplast to make necessary changes was found to be a network of thin filaments. Together, these filaments form a material that can easily contract and expand in all directions."

#Protists #Algae #Organelles #Plastids #Dinoflagellates #Biology #CellBiology

A single cell's siesta: How non-moving #microbes manage to avoid bright light https://phys.org/news/2024-11-cell-siesta-celled-bright.html

Light-regulated #chloroplast morphodynamics in a single-celled dinoflagellate https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2411725121

"The structure that allows the chloroplast to make necessary changes was found to be a network of thin filaments. Together, these filaments form a material that can easily contract and expand in all directions."

#Protists #Algae #Organelles #Plastids #Dinoflagellates #Biology #CellBiology

A single cell's siesta: How non-moving #microbes manage to avoid bright light https://phys.org/news/2024-11-cell-siesta-celled-bright.html

Light-regulated #chloroplast morphodynamics in a single-celled dinoflagellate https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2411725121

"The structure that allows the chloroplast to make necessary changes was found to be a network of thin filaments. Together, these filaments form a material that can easily contract and expand in all directions."

#Protists #Algae #Organelles #Plastids #Dinoflagellates #Biology #CellBiology

A single cell's siesta: How non-moving #microbes manage to avoid bright light https://phys.org/news/2024-11-cell-siesta-celled-bright.html

Light-regulated #chloroplast morphodynamics in a single-celled dinoflagellate https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2411725121

"The structure that allows the chloroplast to make necessary changes was found to be a network of thin filaments. Together, these filaments form a material that can easily contract and expand in all directions."

#Protists #Algae #Organelles #Plastids #Dinoflagellates #Biology #CellBiology

A single cell's siesta: How non-moving #microbes manage to avoid bright light https://phys.org/news/2024-11-cell-siesta-celled-bright.html

Light-regulated #chloroplast morphodynamics in a single-celled dinoflagellate https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2411725121

"The structure that allows the chloroplast to make necessary changes was found to be a network of thin filaments. Together, these filaments form a material that can easily contract and expand in all directions."

#Protists #Algae #Organelles #Plastids #Dinoflagellates #Biology #CellBiology

What a #mollusc shell and fiber optic cables have in common https://www.npr.org/2024/11/23/nx-s1-5199634/heart-shaped-mollusc-shell-resembles-fiber-optic-cables

Heart cockle shells transmit sunlight to photosymbiotic algae using bundled fiber optic cables and condensing lenses: Dakota McCoy et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53110-x

"the structure of the #HeartCockle's shell operates as its own kind of fiber #OpticCables to channel light to the #algae living inside it"

#protists #symbiosis #mollusks #molluscs #animals #invertebrates

Protein shell discovery reveals how #diatoms capture CO₂ so effectively https://phys.org/news/2024-10-protein-shell-discovery-reveals-diatoms.html

"diatom pyrenoids are encased in a lattice-like protein shell... not only gives the pyrenoid its shape, but it helps create a high CO2 concentration in this compartment. This enables Rubisco to efficiently fix CO2"

#algae #protists #microbes #biology #organelles

Protein shell discovery reveals how #diatoms capture CO₂ so effectively https://phys.org/news/2024-10-protein-shell-discovery-reveals-diatoms.html

"diatom pyrenoids are encased in a lattice-like protein shell... not only gives the pyrenoid its shape, but it helps create a high CO2 concentration in this compartment. This enables Rubisco to efficiently fix CO2"

#algae #protists #microbes #biology #organelles

Protein shell discovery reveals how #diatoms capture CO₂ so effectively https://phys.org/news/2024-10-protein-shell-discovery-reveals-diatoms.html

"diatom pyrenoids are encased in a lattice-like protein shell... not only gives the pyrenoid its shape, but it helps create a high CO2 concentration in this compartment. This enables Rubisco to efficiently fix CO2"

#algae #protists #microbes #biology #organelles