Oldest Example Of Mutualism: Termites And Protozoa Discovered Together In Ancient Amber

[Nicholas]

ScienceDaily (May 15, 2009) — The analysis of a termite entombed for 100 million years in an ancient piece of amber has revealed the oldest example of "mutualism" ever discovered between an animal and microorganism, and also shows the unusual biology that helped make this one of the most successful, although frequently despised insect groups in the world.

Find the article HERE!

[Auspex]

Ecologically, any host-specific parasite that harms it's host has to be a relatively recent development; a one-sided relationship would not persist. True symbiotic relationships are eloquent testimony to evolution. Perhaps the protozoa/termite partnership began as an "infestation" which allowed termites to exploit an uncontested food source.

BTW, I think that "international expert on life forms found in amber" is an awesome job description!

[ashcraft]

I am unable to access the article, but facts never stopped me from speaking. While interesting, this really isn't as ground breaking as it might seem. Termites in their present form have been thought to have been around for 200 million years, when they differentiated from their cockroach/preying mantis relatives. I think it is reasonable to assume that when they diverged, they already had the wee-beasties in their gut, as I think they are also found in cockroaches. There are two general groups of termites "old", which still have the symbiote, and "new" who no longer need it, possibly from gene transfer.

Brent Ashcraft