https://scienceillustrated.com/nature/alga-reveals-rare-evolutionary-event

> symbiotic fusion between an alga and a bacterium. The state is known as primary endosymbiosis, and it is only the fourth time in the history of life that it has been recorded.

The first was mitochondria. The second was chloroplasts. The third was another type of chloroplast that emerged soon after.

The new one is nitrogen fixation. I don’t need to tell you how important nitrogen fixation is to plants, and to life on Earth in general. “What makes nitroplast particularly interesting is that it is the first known organelle that is nitrogen-fixing in a cell.”

> scientists think it first emerged 100 million years ago

Interesting, but already recently discussed. See:

https://tokyo3.org/forums/holiday/?main=https%3A//tokyo3.org/forums/holiday/topics/17494/

mollwollfumble said:

https://scienceillustrated.com/nature/alga-reveals-rare-evolutionary-event

> symbiotic fusion between an alga and a bacterium. The state is known as primary endosymbiosis, and it is only the fourth time in the history of life that it has been recorded.

The first was mitochondria. The second was chloroplasts. The third was another type of chloroplast that emerged soon after.

The new one is nitrogen fixation. I don’t need to tell you how important nitrogen fixation is to plants, and to life on Earth in general. “What makes nitroplast particularly interesting is that it is the first known organelle that is nitrogen-fixing in a cell.”

> scientists think it first emerged 100 million years ago

New type of organism that is 100 million years old.

Ok.

I wonder if we merged with anything way back.

mollwollfumble said:

https://scienceillustrated.com/nature/alga-reveals-rare-evolutionary-event

> symbiotic fusion between an alga and a bacterium. The state is known as primary endosymbiosis, and it is only the fourth time in the history of life that it has been recorded.

The first was mitochondria. The second was chloroplasts. The third was another type of chloroplast that emerged soon after.

The new one is nitrogen fixation. I don’t need to tell you how important nitrogen fixation is to plants, and to life on Earth in general. “What makes nitroplast particularly interesting is that it is the first known organelle that is nitrogen-fixing in a cell.”

> scientists think it first emerged 100 million years ago

:) So it now has a name.