Kleptoplasty does not promote major shifts in the lipidome of macroalgal chloroplasts sequestered by the sacoglossan sea slug Elysia viridis.

ABSTRACT: Sacoglossan sea slugs, also known as crawling leaves due to their photosynthetic activity, are highly selective feeders that incorporate chloroplasts from specific macroalgae. These "stolen" plastids - kleptoplasts - are kept functional inside animal cells and likely provide an alternative source of energy to their host. The mechanisms supporting the retention and functionality of kleptoplasts remain unknown. A lipidomic mass spectrometry-based analysis was performed to study kleptoplasty of the sacoglossan sea slug Elysia viridis fed with Codium tomentosum. Total lipid extract of both organisms was fractionated. The fraction rich in glycolipids, exclusive lipids from chloroplasts, and the fraction rich in betaine lipids, characteristic of algae, were analysed using hydrophilic interaction

SUBMITTER: Rey F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5597624 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature