Photosymbiosis

Symbiosis describes the association between two or more partners to produce new strategies for survival. An important type of symbiosis occuring between photosynthetic microbes and their cellular hosts is called photosymbiosis. While corals and the reefs they produce are the most commonly known photosymbiotic organisms in the marine environment, an even more evolutionary signifcant type of photosymbiosis occurs in the water columns of the ocean.

Acantharian photosymbiosis

I conducted my postdoctoral research in the teams of Dr. Johan Decelle and Dr. Yannick Schwab on the photosymbiosis between planktonic Acantharia (below-left: Lithoptera sp.) and photosynthetic microalgae that live within them. Acantharia are single-celled animals characterized by beautiful exoskeletons made of strontium sulfate. These creatures migrate through the water column eating small floating particles including microalgae. However, when microalgae from genus Phaeocystis are ingested, they become integrated as photosynthetic factories inside Acantharia ( below-right: chlorophyll autofluoresence of Phaeocystsis symbionts).

As a phytoplankton cell biologist, I am investigating mechanisms of integration and transformation of Phaeocystis during symbiosis. I look forward to sharing our discoveries.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse