Zooxanthellae

Yellow-brown zooxanthellae

Zooxanthellae (/ˌzoʊəzænˈθɛliː/; sg. zooxanthella) is a colloquial term for single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with diverse marine invertebrates including demosponges, corals, jellyfish, and nudibranchs. Most known zooxanthellae are in the genus Symbiodinium,[1] but some are known from the genus Amphidinium, and other taxa, as yet unidentified, may have similar endosymbiont affinities.[2] The true Zooxanthella K.brandt is a mutualist of the radiolarian Collozoum inerme (Joh.Müll., 1856)[3] and systematically placed in Peridiniales.[4][a] Another group of unicellular eukaryotes that partake in similar endosymbiotic relationships in both marine and freshwater habitats are green algae zoochlorellae.[6]

Zooxanthellae are photosynthetic organisms, which contain chlorophyll a and chlorophyll c, as well as the dinoflagellate pigments peridinin and diadinoxanthin. These provide the yellowish and brownish colours typical of many of the host species.[2] During the day, they provide their host with the organic carbon products of photosynthesis, sometimes providing up to 90% of their host's energy needs for metabolism, growth and reproduction. In return, they receive nutrients, carbon dioxide, and an elevated position with access to sunshine.[7][8]

  1. ^ LaJeunesse, Todd C.; Parkinson, John Everett; Gabrielson, Paul W.; Jeong, Hae Jin; Reimer, James Davis; Voolstra, Christian R.; Santos, Scott R. (20 August 2018). "Systematic Revision of Symbiodiniaceae Highlights the Antiquity and Diversity of Coral Endosymbionts". Current Biology. 28 (16): 2570–2580.e6. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.07.008. hdl:10754/630499. PMID 30100341.
  2. ^ a b Birkeland, Charles (1997). Life and Death of Coral Reefs. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-0-412-03541-8.
  3. ^ Brandt, K. (1881). "Über das Zusammenleben von Thieren und Algen" [About the coexistence of animals and algae]. Archiv für Anatomie und Physiologie / Physiologische Abteilung (in German). 1881: 570–574.
  4. ^ Gottschling, M.; McLean, T.I. (2013). "New home for tiny symbionts: Dinophytes determined as Zooxanthella are Peridiniales and distantly related to Symbiodinium". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 67 (1): 217–222. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.01.003. PMID 23333735.
  5. ^ Michael D. Guiry; Robert A. Andersen (April 2018). "Validation of the generic name Symbiodinium (Dinophyceae, Suessiaceae) revisited and the reinstatement of Zooxanthella K.Brandt" (PDF). Notulae Algarum. 58: 1–5.
  6. ^ Hoek, Christiaan; Mann, David; Jahns, H. M. (1995). Algae: An Introduction to Phycology. Cambridge University Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0-521-31687-3.
  7. ^ Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard S.; Barnes, Robert D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition. Cengage Learning. p. 122. ISBN 978-81-315-0104-7.
  8. ^ Lohr, Jayme; Munn, Colin B.; Wilson, William H. (2007). "Characterization of a Latent Virus-Like Infection of Symbiotic Zooxanthellae". Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 73 (9): 2976–2981. Bibcode:2007ApEnM..73.2976L. doi:10.1128/AEM.02449-06. PMC 1892877. PMID 17351090.


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