ISSN:
1432-1793
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract To identify sources of nutrition potentially available to the yolk-deficient embryos of the brooding brittlestar Amphipholis squamata Della Chiaje, (= Axiognathus squamata, Thomas 1966), specimens were collected intertidally at all seasons (1986 through 1987) from Odiorne Point, Rye, New Hampshire and from Appledore Island, Isles of Shoals, Maine, USA. Ultrastructural, autoradiographic and immunohistochemical studies were made of adults and brooded embryos. Adult and embryonic tissues have morphological adaptations which support healthy, symbiotic bacteria (5 to 9 x 106 colony forming units/adult brittlestar), while autoradiographic studies indicate direct uptake of labeled amino acids by eukaryotic host tissues and bacteria. Cell envelopes of subcuticular bacteria suggest that they are Gram negative and may belong in the genus Vibrio. Based on immunohistochemical localization, it appears that a single type of bacterium is present in large numbers under the cuticles of embryos and adults of A. squamata. This is the first study of the relationship between an echinoderm and a bacterium which includes isolation and immunohistochemical verification of the identity of the bacterial symbiont.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00399584
