Algae and Endosymbiosis: Development of an educational game to understand the origin of eukaryotes from prokaryotes

• Grant number: 25/14858-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany
• Principal Investigator: Priscila Barreto de Jesus
• Grantee: Vitória Lopes Fernandes
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 25/02429-1 - Algae everywhere: guiding elements for teaching Biology, AP.R

Abstract

Many studies indicate that the process of endosymbiosis (when one organism begins to live inside another - the host - and both benefit from this relationship) was decisive for the evolution of eukaryotes from prokaryotes, through the acquisition of mitochondria and chloroplasts. Despite being an abstract theoretical subject, knowledge about the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms-and the emergence of the latter from the former-can be presented in a playful way, so that students understand that the main differences between them arose from the process of endosymbiosis, highlighting the characteristics of each group. Thus, this proposal aims to develop a game that explores the origin of eukaryotes from prokaryotes, their diversity, and the processes of endosymbiosis, using algae as protagonists in this process.