Evolution, Cell Biology, and Symbiosis Unit

pause

The Evolution, Cell Biology and Symbiosis Unit studies major evolutionary transitions such as the origin of the eukaryotic cell and its endosymbiotic organelles, mitochondria and plastids. We explore how intracellular symbioses originate, how they are maintained at the cellular level for up to hundreds of millions of years, and how the symbionts eventually become either highly integrated into their host cells or extinct.