A high school student uses crowdfunding to produce the first genome assembly for this popular aquarium species, underscoring the increasing feasibility of whole-genome sequencing.
All multicellular creatures interact with bacteria, but some have taken the relationship to another level with highly specialized structures that house, feed, and exploit the tiny organisms.
Tortoise leaf beetles enjoy the protection the fungus provides from insect predators such as ants, then carry the microbe to a mutual plant host, which their fungal symbiont infects.