Endosymbiotic Theory Interactive

Experience the revolutionary biological process that created complex life on Earth through this engaging educational simulation. Guide a primitive cell as it engulfs bacteria to form mitochondria and chloroplasts, recreating the pivotal evolutionary events that led to all plants and animals. Through hands-on gameplay and interactive quizzes, you’ll understand how simple cells became the complex organisms that dominate Earth today.

  What You’ll Do:

  • Control a living cell – Use your mouse to guide cells through each evolutionary stage

  • Identify aerobic bacteria – Observe different prokaryotes and select the oxygen-consuming bacteria that will become mitochondria

  • Perform phagocytosis – Engulf bacterial cells and watch them transform into organelles inside your cell

  • Feed your mitochondria – Collect glucose and oxygen molecules to power cellular respiration

  • Harness photosynthesis – Capture cyanobacteria to create chloroplasts and produce your own glucose from sunlight

  • Manage a complete cell – Balance inputs and outputs between chloroplasts and mitochondria in a fully functioning eukaryotic cell

  What You’ll Learn:

  • How mitochondria and chloroplasts originated from engulfed bacteria

  • Why mitochondria have their own DNA and replicate independently

  • The difference between aerobic respiration (36 ATP) and fermentation (2ATP)

  • How early Earth’s anaerobic conditions shaped evolution

  • The role of cyanobacteria in creating Earth’s oxygen atmosphere

  • Evidence supporting the endosymbiotic theory through interactive quizzes