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Short-term retention of kleptoplasty from a green alga (Bryopsis) in the sea slug Placida sp. YS001

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Abstract

The capacity of sea slugs (sacoglossans) for retaining chloroplasts from food algae provides important insights into endosymbiotic relationships and kleptoplasty. A sea slug species was captured accidentally in the Yellow Sea and identified as Placida sp. YS001 based on phylogenetic analyses of the COX1 and 16S gene sequence. Its life cycle was recorded using microscope. Photosynthetic analysis by pulse amplitude modulated fluorometry during starvation revealed shortterm functional kleptoplasty. An ultrastructural comparison of the slug and alga showed that a change in the chloroplast structure and the phagosome might correspond to short-term endosymbiosis. The horizontally transferred genes, psbO and lectin, were not cloned in the adults or eggs. This study demonstrates the morphological adaptation that occurs during short-term endosymbiotic relationships and provides fresh insights.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Xiao Fan, Dong Xu, Xiaowen Zhang, Shanli Mou & Naihao Ye

  2. College of Animal Science and Technology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Shaona Cao & Yitao Wang

  3. Key Laboratory of Restoration for Marine Ecology, Shandong Marine Resource and Enviroment Research Institute, Yantai, 264006, China

    Hongjin Qiao

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  1. Xiao Fan
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  3. Dong Xu
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  4. Shaona Cao
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  8. Naihao Ye
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Correspondence to Naihao Ye.

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Fan, X., Qiao, H., Xu, D. et al. Short-term retention of kleptoplasty from a green alga (Bryopsis) in the sea slug Placida sp. YS001. Biologia 69, 635–643 (2014). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-014-0355-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-014-0355-y

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