A Nitrogen-Fixing Seagrass Discovered

Seagrass (Posidonia oceanica) has formed a symbiotic relationship with a marine bacterium in order to acquire an essential nutrient: nitrogen. It’s a survival strategy that has never before been seen in an aquatic plant. The seagrass co-evolved with the newly described microbe, Celerinatantimonas neptuna, similarly to how legumes solved the same conundrum on land. The discovery explains how seagrass can form vast meadows in coastal environments around the globe — and helps us to understand the best places to restore degraded ecosystems.

Blogger Comments:

Evolutionary change does not happen 'in order to' (purpose) but 'because' (reason and result).