Salamander Has Algae Living Inside Its Cells

In a symbiotic union more complete than any previously found in vertebrates, the common spotted salamander lives with algae inside its cells.  Such a degree of cross-species fusion was long thought to exist only among invertebrates, whose immune systems are not primed to destroy invaders. But algae live inside the salamanders from before birth, possibly passed down from parent to offspring.  “A large number of algae cells go inside the embryo. That was something we didn’t expect,” said Ryan Kerney, a Dalhousie University biologist.   link