Sea cucumbers and their symbiotic microbiome have evolved to feed on seabed sediments.

ABSTRACT: Sea cucumbers are predominant deposit feeders in benthic ecosystems, providing protective benefits to coral reefs by reducing disease prevalence. However, how they receive sufficient nutrition from seabed sediments remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate Holothuria leucospilota, an ecologically significant tropical sea cucumber, to elucidate digestive mechanisms underlying marine deposit-feeding. Genomic analysis reveals intriguing evolutionary adaptation characterized by an expansion of digestive carbohydrase genes and a contraction of digestive protease genes, suggesting specialization in digesting microalgae. Developmentally, two pivotal dietary shifts, namely, from endogenous nutrition to planktonic feeding, and from planktonic feeding to deposit feeding, induce changes in dige

SUBMITTER: Pan W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11470021 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature