Studies on the genus Mesodinium I: ultrastructure and description of Mesodinium chamaeleon n.sp., a benthic marine species with green and red chloroplasts

TY - JOUR

T1 - Studies on the genus Mesodinium I

T2 - ultrastructure and description of Mesodinium chamaeleon n.sp., a benthic marine species with green and red chloroplasts

AU - Moestrup, Øjvind

AU - Garcia-Cuetos, Lydia

AU - Hansen, Per Juel

AU - Fenchel, Tom

PY - 2012/1

Y1 - 2012/1

N2 - We provide here the description of a new marine species that harbors green or red chloroplasts. In contrast to certain other species of the genus, Mesodinium chamaeleon n. sp. can be maintained in culture for short periods only. It captures and ingests flagellates including cryptomonads. The prey is ingested very rapidly into a food vacuole without the cryptomonad flagella being shed and the trichocysts being discharged. The individual food vacuoles subsequently serve as photosynthetic units, each containing the cryptomonad chloroplast, a nucleus, and some mitochondria. The ingested cells are eventually digested. This type of symbiosis differs from other plastid-bearing Mesodinium spp. in retaining ingested cryptomonad cells almost intact. The food strategy of the new species appears to be intermediate between heterotrophic species, such as Mesodinium pulex and Mesodinium pupula, and species with red cryptomonad endosymbionts, such as Mesodinium rubrum.

AB - We provide here the description of a new marine species that harbors green or red chloroplasts. In contrast to certain other species of the genus, Mesodinium chamaeleon n. sp. can be maintained in culture for short periods only. It captures and ingests flagellates including cryptomonads. The prey is ingested very rapidly into a food vacuole without the cryptomonad flagella being shed and the trichocysts being discharged. The individual food vacuoles subsequently serve as photosynthetic units, each containing the cryptomonad chloroplast, a nucleus, and some mitochondria. The ingested cells are eventually digested. This type of symbiosis differs from other plastid-bearing Mesodinium spp. in retaining ingested cryptomonad cells almost intact. The food strategy of the new species appears to be intermediate between heterotrophic species, such as Mesodinium pulex and Mesodinium pupula, and species with red cryptomonad endosymbionts, such as Mesodinium rubrum.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - marinbiologi

KW - ciliat

KW - Mesodinium

KW - mixotrofi

U2 - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00593.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2011.00593.x

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 22221919

SN - 1066-5234

VL - 59

SP - 20

EP - 39

JO - Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

JF - Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

IS - 1

ER -