Clode Peta L, Saunders Martin, Maker Garth, Ludwig Martha, Atkins Craig A
Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.
Plant Cell Environ. 2009 Feb;32(2):170-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2008.01909.x. Epub 2008 Nov 13.
The symbiosis between cnidarians and dinoflagellate algae is not understood at the cell or molecular level, yet this relationship is responsible for the formation of thousands of square kilometres of coral reefs. We have investigated the nature of crystalline material prominent within marine algal symbionts of Aiptasia sp. anemones. This material, which has historically been considered to be calcium oxalate, is shown to be uric acid. We demonstrate that these abundant uric acid stores can be mobilized rapidly, thereby allowing the algal symbionts to flourish in an otherwise N-poor environment. This is the first report of uric acid accumulation by symbiotic marine algae. These data provide new insight and considerations for understanding the physiological basis of algal symbioses, and represent a new and previously unconsidered aspect of N metabolism in cnidarian, and a variety of other, marine symbioses.
刺胞动物与甲藻之间的共生关系在细胞或分子水平上尚不明确，但这种关系却造就了数千平方公里的珊瑚礁。我们研究了海葵Aiptasia sp. 的海洋藻类共生体中显著存在的晶体物质的性质。这种物质在历史上一直被认为是草酸钙，而现在被证明是尿酸。我们证明，这些丰富的尿酸储备可以迅速被调动，从而使藻类共生体能够在原本氮含量较低的环境中茁壮成长。这是共生海洋藻类积累尿酸的首次报道。这些数据为理解藻类共生的生理基础提供了新的见解和思考，代表了刺胞动物以及其他多种海洋共生关系中氮代谢的一个新的、以前未被考虑的方面。
