[B-CG06] Frontier in Biology and Paleobiology of Fossilized Micro-organisms

Wed. May 27, 2026 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Exhibition Hall Special Setting (5) (Exhibition Hall 7&8, Makuhari Messe)

Chairperson:Ujiie Yurika(Kochi University), Rebecchi Federica(University of Urbino Department of Pure and Applied Sciences)

Our session aims to open a new window into interdisciplinary research bridging Earth Sciences and Biology, with a focus on microfossils and fossilized microorganisms.
Microfossils provide well-preserved and the most continuous fossil records throughout the Phanerozoic eon. Due to their high abundance, global distribution, and rapid evolutionary rates, they have long served as essential tools in geological studies: especially in biostratigraphy, chronology, paleoceanography, and paleontology. The biominerals of microfossils preserve signals of past ocean chemistry and climate changes, and even pollution events. As highly sensitive indicators of environmental change, they are invaluable not only for understanding deep-time Earth history but also for monitoring environmental shifts in the Anthropocene. Fossilized microorganisms diverse in nearly all major eukaryotic supergroups, offering a unique biological archive. In recent decades, rapid advancements in molecular biology have brought new dimensions to their study. Techniques such as molecular phylogenetics, metabarcoding, transcriptomics, and genomic analyses now provide new insights into the evolution, metabolisms, and diversification of microfossil organisms. These approaches also shed light on the intricate relationship between environmental change and biological evolution. As we broaden our scientific approaches to incorporate insights from ecology, cell biology, and environmental sciences, the study of fossilized microorganisms is becoming a hub for truly integrative science. We welcome contributions that explore evolutionary biology and the Earth history, ecology, biochemistry, biomonitoring applications, and other general aspects of microfossils and microorganisms. Join us in bridging the past and present to better understand the history and future of life on Earth.

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3:30 PM - 3:55 PM

[BCG06-13] Benthic Foraminifera as Indicators of Marine Pollution: Integrating Field Studies, Experiments, and eDNA Metabarcoding

★Invited Papers

*Fabrizio Frontalini¹ (1. DiSPeA, Urbino University, Urbino, Italy)

3:55 PM - 4:10 PM

[BCG06-14] Exploring the effects of electrical stimulation on physiology and calcification of benthic foraminifera

*Federica Rebecchi¹, Yoshiyuki Ishitani², Davide Lattanzi¹, Hiroyuki Kashima², Caterina Ciacci¹, Michele Betti¹, Yurika Ujiie³, Katsunori Kimoto², Sigal Abramovich⁴, Fabrizio Frontalini¹ (1. Urbino Univ., 2. JAMSTEC, 3. Kochi Univ., 4. Ben Gurion Univ.)

4:10 PM - 4:25 PM

[BCG06-15] Interactive effects of temperature, pH, and total alkalinity on calcification of a symbiotic benthic foraminifer

*Yoshimi Kubota¹, Shunichi Kinoshita², Atsushi Suzuki³, Masashi Tsuchiya², Azumi Kuroyanagi⁴ (1. National Museum of Nature and Science, 2. Faculty of Dinosaur Paleontology, Fukui Prefectural University, 3. Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 4. Tohoku University Museum, The Center for Academic Resources and Archives, Tohoku University)

4:25 PM - 4:40 PM

[BCG06-16] Complex mitochondrial genome of Foraminifera

*Yoshiyuki Ishitani¹, Yurika Ujiie², Hidetaka Nomaki¹ (1. Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2. Kochi University)

4:40 PM - 4:55 PM

[BCG06-17] Acquisition mode of microalgal symbionts in planktic foraminifers

*Kengo Kukita^1,3, Kotaro Yamane², Yurika Ujiie³ (1. Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Kochi University, 2. Department of Biological Sciences, Kochi University, 3. Marine Core Research Institute, Kochi University)

Discussion (4:55 PM - 5:00 PM)