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.
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Source: Phys.org