Unique Relationship Between Salamanders and Algae

Frontiers in Microbiology

Plants and animals often engage in symbiotic relationships that benefit both organisms. Scientists used to believe that the salamander eggs and algae may be helping one another by exchanging sugar molecules produced through photosynthesis – but a series of laboratory experiments by Dr. Solange Duhamel and others showed that this was not the case. Instead, salamander embryos may be able to develop without the need for this exchange.