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Explore how organisms acquire metabolic capabilities from other species and how these biological partnerships have fundamentally shaped evolutionary history in this 56-minute Presidential Lecture. Discover the fascinating world of metabolic rule-breakers that challenge traditional understanding of how organisms obtain energy and nutrients. Learn about metabolic mutualisms between trees and belowground fungi that enable plants to adapt their metabolic strategies for different environmental conditions. Examine how chloroplast-stealing microbes capture and utilize photosynthetic machinery from other organisms to harness solar energy, sometimes leading to dramatic ecological phenomena like red tides. Understand how these metabolic acquisitions allow biological capabilities to transfer across distant branches of the evolutionary tree, driving innovation and adaptation throughout Earth's history. Gain insights into how these processes continue to influence evolution today, revealing the dynamic and interconnected nature of life's metabolic networks.
