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Harnessing solar power: photoautotrophy supplements the diet of a low-light dwelling sponge.


ABSTRACT: The ability of organisms to combine autotrophy and heterotrophy gives rise to one of the most successful nutritional strategies on Earth: mixotrophy. Sponges are integral members of shallow-water ecosystems and many host photosynthetic symbionts, but studies on mixotrophic sponges have focused primarily on species residing in high-light environments. Here, we quantify the contribution of photoautotrophy to the respiratory demand and total carbon diet of the sponge Chondrilla caribensis, which hosts symbiotic cyanobacteria and lives in low-light environments. Although the sponge is net heterotrophic at 20 m water depth, photosynthetically fixed carbon potentially provides up to 52% of the holobiont's respiratory demand. When considering the total mixotrophic diet, photoautotrophy contributed an estimated 7% to total daily carbon uptake. Visualization of inorganic 13C- and 15N-incorporation using nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) at the single-cell level confirmed that a portion of nutrients assimilated by the prokaryotic community was translocated to host cells. Photoautotrophy can thus provide an important supplemental source of carbon for sponges, even in low-light habitats. This trophic plasticity may represent a widespread strategy for net heterotrophic sponges hosting photosymbionts, enabling the host to buffer against periods of nutritional stress.

SUBMITTER: Hudspith M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9381825 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Harnessing solar power: photoautotrophy supplements the diet of a low-light dwelling sponge.

Hudspith Meggie M   de Goeij Jasper M JM   Streekstra Mischa M   Kornder Niklas A NA   Bougoure Jeremy J   Guagliardo Paul P   Campana Sara S   van der Wel Nicole N NN   Muyzer Gerard G   Rix Laura L  

The ISME journal 20220602 9


The ability of organisms to combine autotrophy and heterotrophy gives rise to one of the most successful nutritional strategies on Earth: mixotrophy. Sponges are integral members of shallow-water ecosystems and many host photosynthetic symbionts, but studies on mixotrophic sponges have focused primarily on species residing in high-light environments. Here, we quantify the contribution of photoautotrophy to the respiratory demand and total carbon diet of the sponge Chondrilla caribensis, which ho  ...[more]

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