Oophila

Oophila amblystomatis, commonly known as chlamydomonad algae or salamander algae, is a species of single-celled green algae. The Latin specific name means "loves salamander eggs". It does not occur anywhere in nature other than in the eggs of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum. The alga can invade and grow in the amphibian's egg capsule. Once inside, it metabolizes the carbon dioxide produced by the embryo and provides it with oxygen as a result of photosynthesis. This is an example of symbiosis,[2] and the only known example an intracellular endosymbiont microbe in vertebrates.[3][4]

Chlamydomonad alga
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Plantae
Division:
Chlorophyta
Class:
Chlorophyceae
Order:
Chlorococcales
Family:
Chlorococcaceae
Genus:
Oophila
Species:
O. amblystomatis
Binomial name
Oophila amblystomatis
Printz, 1927[1]
Ambystoma maculatum clear egg mass with green color from Oophila algae

This symbiosis between Oophila and the salamander may exist beyond the oocyte and early embryonic stage. Chlorophyll autofluorescence observation and ribosomal DNA analysis suggest that this algal species has invaded embryonic salamander tissues and cells during development and may even be transmitted to the next generation.[5]

Oophila amblystomatis are only found in freshwater in woodland ponds. They grow best at a water depth of 30cm with the water temperature being 15C and an air temperature of 14C. Their optimal pH tolerance ranges from 6.26-6.46 and they require an environment where there is 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. Cells are motile are able to move the water by the use of a flagelluma. Oophila amblystomatis can also reproduce sexually and asexually. 16S rRNA has been partially sequenced as well as the 18S rRNA for the plasmid, however whole genome sequencing has not been done.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Oophila amblystomatis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  2. Nature Trivia, Spotted Salamander Archived 2010-08-02 at the Wayback Machine at Henderson State University. Accessed 4 August 2008.
  3. Frazer, J. (2018-05-18). "Algae Living inside Salamanders Aren't Happy about the Situation". Scientific American. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
  4. Burns, J. A.; Zhang, H.; Hill, E.; Kim, E.; Kerney, R. (2017). "Transcriptome analysis illuminates the nature of the intracellular interaction in a vertebrate-algal symbiosis". eLife. 6. doi:10.7554/eLife.22054. PMC 5413350. PMID 28462779.
  5. Kerney, Ryan; et al. (2011). "Intracellular invasion of green algae in a salamander host". PNAS. 108: 6497–6502. doi:10.1073/pnas.1018259108. PMC 3080989. PMID 21464324.
  6. Lin, Yuan (2015). "Identification of free-living Oophila amblystomatis (Chlorophyceae) from Yellow Spotted Salamander and Wood Frog breeding habitat". Phycologia. 54: 183, 191. doi:10.2216/14-076.1.

Further reading


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