Biomedical
What choanoflagellates can teach us about symbiosis
Abstract
Summary
This study examines the relationship between carbon emissions and low-carbon innovation in firms using panel data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2019. The key findings include:
- Carbon emissions promote low-carbon innovation in firms
- This effect is mediated by carbon emissions reduction pressure and increased R&D investment
- The promotional effect is stronger in firms with lower equity concentration and in high-tech firms
- Indirect carbon emissions from purchased electricity, heat, and steam do not promote low-carbon innovation, while other types of carbon emissions do
The study contributes to understanding how firms respond to climate change through innovation and has implications for optimizing carbon emissions policies and supporting low-carbon technological development. It suggests that the period before reaching peak carbon emissions may present opportunities for accelerating low-carbon innovation if properly leveraged.
Key Questions
1. What types of interactions do choanoflagellates have with bacteria?
Choanoflagellates have diverse interactions with bacteria, ranging from predatory relationships where they consume bacteria as food to more complex associations including developmental responses to bacterial signals and stable physical symbioses in some species.
2. How do bacteria influence choanoflagellate biology?
Bacteria influence various aspects of choanoflagellate biology, including triggering developmental transitions, inducing colony formation, stimulating collective behaviors, and in some cases forming stable associations within choanoflagellate colonies.
3. What are some examples of stable symbioses between choanoflagellates and bacteria?
Examples include Barroeca monosierra, which forms large spherical colonies with bacteria colonizing the hollow centers, and a newly identified Choanoeca sp. where bacteria colonize the extracellular matrix of branched colony structures.
4. How might studying choanoflagellate-bacteria interactions inform our understanding of animal evolution?
As the closest living relatives of animals, choanoflagellates can provide insights into how symbiotic interactions with bacteria may have shaped the biology of animal progenitors and influenced the evolution of multicellularity and animal origins.
5. What new approaches are needed to better study choanoflagellate-bacteria interactions?
New approaches include metagenomic sequencing and cell sorting methods to sample microenvironments, track associations over space and time, and potentially identify new symbioses. Studying interactions both in the lab and in natural settings is also important to understand their ecological context and prevalence.
