When two organisms live together so closely that they merge into a functional unit, this is known as symbiosis. In the "1+1=1" project, an international, interdisciplinary research team is ...

Ciliate protozoa possess the remarkable ability to reproduce through both asexual and sexual means. Their distinctive sexual process involves conjugation and autogamy, and they wield a secret weapon: ...

Paramecium relies on thousands of motile cilia arranged in longitudinal rows to generate coordinated metachronal waves for propulsion and feeding. Each cilium contains an axoneme anchored at a basal ...

Conjugation (or mating) of ciliates is a unique phenomenon among living beings. They have sex not for reproduction or pleasure — they seek to increase genetic variation. Scientists from St Petersburg ...