A novel mechanism for host-mediated photoprotection in endosymbiotic foraminifera
Light underpins the health and function of coral reef ecosystems, where symbiotic partnerships with photosynthetic algae constitute the life support system of the reef. Decades of research have given us detailed knowledge of the photoprotective capacity of phototrophic organisms, yet little is known...
Saved in:
Published in | The ISME Journal Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 453 - 462 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
01.02.2017
Nature Publishing Group |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Light underpins the health and function of coral reef ecosystems, where symbiotic partnerships with photosynthetic algae constitute the life support system of the reef. Decades of research have given us detailed knowledge of the photoprotective capacity of phototrophic organisms, yet little is known about the role of the host in providing photoprotection in symbiotic systems. Here we show that the intracellular symbionts within the large photosymbiotic foraminifera
Marginopora vertebralis
exhibit phototactic behaviour, and that the phototactic movement of the symbionts is accomplished by the host, through rapid actin-mediated relocation of the symbionts deeper into the cavities within the calcium carbonate test. Using a photosynthetic inhibitor, we identified that the infochemical signalling for host regulation is photosynthetically derived, highlighting the presence of an intimate communication between the symbiont and the host. Our results emphasise the central importance of the host in photosymbiotic photoprotection via a new mechanism in foraminifera that can serve as a platform for exploring host–symbiont communication in other photosymbiotic organisms. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1751-7362 1751-7370 |
DOI: | 10.1038/ismej.2016.128 |