In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and Louisiana State University, USA, have analysed the differences in the genome of a variety of weedy rice, with that of two cultivated rice varieties. Weedy rice, as the name suggests, is a variety of rice that grows like weed in paddy fields.
The study from IISc found a previously unidentified yeast-like symbiont inside the lac insect Kerria lacca, which gives the insect its distinctive red colour and, may also provide other nutrients in return for shelter.