Kleptoplast distribution, photosynthetic efficiency and sequestration mechanisms in intertidal benthic foraminifera.

ABSTRACT: Foraminifera are ubiquitously distributed in marine habitats, playing a major role in marine sediment carbon sequestration and the nitrogen cycle. They exhibit a wide diversity of feeding and behavioural strategies (heterotrophy, autotrophy and mixotrophy), including species with the ability of sequestering intact functional chloroplasts from their microalgal food source (kleptoplastidy), resulting in a mixotrophic lifestyle. The mechanisms by which kleptoplasts are integrated and kept functional inside foraminiferal cytosol are poorly known. In our study, we investigated relationships between feeding strategies, kleptoplast spatial distribution and photosynthetic functionality in two shallow-water benthic foraminifera (Haynesina germanica and Elphidium williamsoni), both species feeding o

SUBMITTER: Jesus B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8857221 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature