Abstract
Juveniles of Leiognathus nuchalis were raised from fertilized eggs for up to 60 d and examined for luminescence activity. Almost all juveniles raised separately from adults failed to produce detectable light. In contrast, a significant percentage (33 to 100%) of the juveniles became luminescent in less than 48 h when they were either kept with adults or inoculated with a homogenate of the adult light organs. The luminescence tended to increase with time after the treatments. These findings suggest that: (1) most of L. nuchalis offspring typically hatch and develop apo-symbiotically and (2) at least 45 d after hatching, juveniles can be infected with symbiotic luminous bacteria from the light organ of adult fish, and thereby gain the ability to produce light.
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Received: 16 February 1999 / Accepted: 21 September 1999
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Wada, M., Azuma, N., Mizuno, N. et al. Transfer of symbiotic luminous bacteria from parental Leiognathus nuchalis to their offspring. Marine Biology 135, 683–687 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050669
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270050669