Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement (LMGE), UMR CNRS 6023, Université Clermont-Auvergne, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Institut de Chimie Physique, CNRS UMR 8000, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405, Orsay, France.
Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 27;14(1):22107. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-73332-9.
The smallest entities in aquatic ecosystems, i.e., femtoplankton, are certainly the largest reservoir of uncharacterized biodiversity. Among them, the discovery of mysterious Aster like nanoparticles has raised many questions about their nature, origin and ecology. Here, we highlight the original nature of this new model, organic and composed of enriched-calcium carbohydrates, with no detection of nucleic acids or proteins. The biosynthesis of these entities seems to be associated with a host in their 11 arms' form prior to their release into the environment. An intriguing aspect of their mode of development is their ability, once free, to change form and maintain their abundance autonomously without metabolism being detected, resulting in an unexpected polymorphism. Their remarkable capacity for massive in situ development and their links with prokaryotes and other microbes suggest a major role in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. There's no doubt that these new entities are a source of new knowledge not only in the sciences of organic nanoparticles, but also in their ecological importance for aquatic ecosystems.
水生生态系统中最小的实体，即 femtoplankton，无疑是未被描述的生物多样性的最大储存库。在这些实体中，神秘的 Aster 样纳米颗粒的发现引发了许多关于它们的性质、起源和生态的问题。在这里，我们强调了这个新模型的原始性质，它是有机的，由富含钙的碳水化合物组成，没有检测到核酸或蛋白质。这些实体的生物合成似乎与它们在释放到环境之前以 11 条臂的形式存在的宿主有关。它们发育方式的一个有趣方面是，一旦它们自由，它们就能够改变形态并自主维持其丰度，而不会检测到新陈代谢，从而导致出乎意料的多态性。它们在原位大量发育的惊人能力以及它们与原核生物和其他微生物的联系，表明它们在水生生态系统的功能中起着重要作用。毫无疑问，这些新实体不仅是有机纳米颗粒科学的新知识来源，而且对于水生生态系统的生态重要性也是如此。
