Algal symbiosis could shed light on dark ocean

Date:
August 5, 2020
Source:
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Summary:
New research has revealed a surprise twist in the symbiotic
relationship between a type of salamander and the alga that lives
inside its eggs. A new paper reports that the eggs compete with
the algae to assimilate carbon from their surroundings - a finding
that could inform similar processes in the dark ocean.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research has revealed a surprise twist in the symbiotic relationship between a type of salamander and the alga that lives inside its eggs. A
new paper in Frontiers in Microbiology reports that the eggs compete with
the algae to assimilate carbon from their surroundings -- a finding that
could inform similar processes in the dark ocean.


========================================================================== Plants and animals sometimes partner up in symbiotic relationships that
benefit both, such as corals that provide a protective environment for
algae that live inside them, and receive oxygen and nutrients from the
algae in return.

Originally, scientists believed that the salamander eggs and algae may
be helping one another by exchanging sugar molecules -- but a series
of laboratory experiments showed molecular biologist John Burns and his colleagues Solange Duhamel at the University of Arizona and Ryan Kerney
at Gettysburg College that this was not the case. Burns is the newest
senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences,
and much of his research explores how unusual situations in cell biology
can inform understanding of the way larger systems function.

"Direct associations between algae and vertebrate animals are rare, and
so one of the big questions has always been why this symbiosis exists
in the first place," Burns said. "Learning about the chemical dialog
between the algae and salamander eggs is essential for understanding
their relationship, and implications for other symbioses." Algae and
other plants remove carbon dioxide from their surroundings for
use in key biochemical processes, such as synthesizing essential
molecules. Animals must assimilate, or "fix," carbon to excrete as the
waste product urea. Animals also fix small amounts of carbon for use in
other biochemical pathways - - including, the researchers discovered,
spotted salamander embryos.

Burns believes that this ability could provide a "shortcut" that makes biochemical processes in the embryos more efficient. All animals must synthesize and process dozens of molecules in order to conduct the
processes necessary for life, like the conversion of food into energy
and waste products.

Carbon is one of the essential ingredients in these processes, and being
able to quickly incorporate an additional carbon atom could confer a
handy evolutionary advantage.

"Research today often doesn't account for the fact that animals can
fix small amounts of carbon," Burns said. "Understanding that plants
and animals can actually compete for carbon is one key to understanding
what really happens in these symbiotic relationships." Though algae and
plants require light to fix carbon, the salamander eggs do not. Burns
believes that the processes taking place in the eggs may be similar to
those happening in some ocean microbes, and that they could serve as a
useful parallel for an often-overlooked type of carbon fixation.

Previous research has shown that carbon fixation continues in the ocean
even during the dark of night. It also happens in the deep ocean, beyond
the reach of the sun -- but it has never been clear how much of an impact
these processes have on a global scale.

"Learning more about these chemical dialogs could teach us about the
players in dark carbon fixation, and help us begin understanding how
big an effect this has on the global ocean," Burns said. "This research
into the minute world inside a salamander egg can prompt us to ask
new questions about the effects of competition for inorganic carbon, particularly during symbioses, on entire food webs."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Bigelow_Laboratory_for_Ocean_Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. John A. Burns, Ryan Kerney, Solange Duhamel. Heterotrophic Carbon
Fixation in a Salamander-Alga Symbiosis. Frontiers in Microbiology,
2020; 11 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01815 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200805124016.htm

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