Transmission strategies in a chemosynthetic symbiosis: detection and quantification of symbionts in host tissues and their environment.

ABSTRACT: Transmission of bacteria vertically through host tissues ensures offspring acquire symbionts; however, horizontal transmission is an effective strategy for many associations and plays a role in some vertically transmitted symbioses. The bivalve Solemya velum and its gammaproteobacterial chemosynthetic symbionts exhibit evolutionary evidence of both transmission modes, but the dominant strategy on an ecological time scale is unknown. To address this, a specific primer set was developed and validated for the S. velum symbiont using a novel workflow called specific marker design (SMD). Symbionts were quantified in spawned eggs and sediment and seawater samples from S. velum habitats with qPCR. Each egg was estimated to contain 50-100 symbiont genomes. By contrast, symbiont DNA was found at lo

SUBMITTER: Russell SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6235040 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature