A novel open-source cultivation system helps establish the first full cycle chemosynthetic symbiosis model system involving the giant ciliate Zoothamnium niveum.

ABSTRACT: Symbiotic interactions drive species evolution, with nutritional symbioses playing vital roles across ecosystems. Chemosynthetic symbioses are globally distributed and ecologically significant, yet the lack of model systems has hindered research progress. The giant ciliate Zoothamnium niveum and its sulfur-oxidizing symbionts represent the only known chemosynthetic symbiosis with a short life span that has been transiently cultivated in the laboratory. While it is experimentally tractable and presents a promising model system, it currently lacks an open-source, simple, and standardized cultivation setup. Following the FABricated Ecosystems (EcoFABs) model, we leveraged 3D printing and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) casting to develop simple flow-through cultivation chambers that can be

SUBMITTER: Contarini PE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11669664 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature