Two life forms merging into one
This only happens once in a billion years!
The first time it happened, was approximately 2.2 billion years ago when a single-celled organism called archaea swallowed up a bacterium that eventually became the mitochondria. They are what generate the energy that powers our cells. Without them we couldn’t exist.
The second time it happened was around a billion years ago when Cyanobacteria got swallowed up by more complex organisms who could now get their life force directly from the sun. That was the beginning of our earth’s plant life.
And now it’s happening again!
An algae and a bacterium fused together and became what are being called “nitroplast”. They can draw in nitrogen straight from the air and alchemize it into more useful compounds. It’s an evolutionary leap for the green kingdom.
https://www.popsci.com/science/two-lifeforms-merged-into-one/