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In this example, the slug gets food and defensive chemicals, the algae get chemicals, and the bacteria get a home and free meals for life in the form of nutrients from their algae host. A symbiotic relationship is one in which several organisms closely interact. rufescens, marine algae of the genus Bryopsis, and the newly identified bacteria - form a three-way symbiotic relationship. The intertwined story of these three characters - the sea slug E. In turn, the bacteria devote at least a fifth of their metabolic efforts to making poisonous molecules for their host.
The team found that the bacteria have become so dependent on their algal home that they cannot survive on their own. In a new study, a Princeton-led team has discovered that these toxic chemicals originate from a newly identified species of bacteria living inside the algae. view moreĬredit: Mohamed Donia, Princeton Universityĭelicate yet voracious, the sea slug Elysia rufescens grazes cow-like on bright green tufts of algae, rooting around to find the choicest bits.īut this inch-long marine mollusk gains not only a tasty meal - it also slurps up the algae's defensive chemicals, which the slug can then deploy against its own predators. The slug, algae and bacteria form a three-way symbiotic relationship.
The toxic chemicals, kahalalides, are actually made by bacteria that live inside the algae. Video: Researchers have found that a sea slug that acquires defensive chemicals from eating algae has a surprising twist.
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