Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
2007-1-17
pubmed:abstractText
Photosynthetic dinoflagellates contain a diverse collection of plastid types, a situation believed to have arisen from multiple endosymbiotic events. In addition, a number of heterotrophic (phagotrophic) dinoflagellates possess the ability to acquire chloroplasts temporarily by engulfing algae and retaining their chloroplasts in a functional state. These latter relationships typically last from a few days to weeks, at which point the chloroplasts lose function, are digested and replaced with newly acquired plastids. A novel and abundant dinoflagellate related to the icthyotoxic genera Karenia and Karlodinium was recently discovered by us in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Sequencing of its plastid small subunit ribosomal gene indicated that it did not share evolutionary history with the plastids of Karenia or Karlodinium, but was closely related to the free-living haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica, a species that often dominates phytoplankton blooms in the Ross Sea. Chloroplast uptake was observed to occur rapidly (within 2 days), with retention in cultures being long-lived (several months) but not permanent. The dinoflagellate was also incapable of growing indefinitely in continuous darkness with algae as prey. Our findings may indicate an emerging endosymbiotic event yielding a dinoflagellate that is presently neither purely phototrophic nor purely heterotrophic, but occupies a niche juxtaposed between these contrasting nutritional modes.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
1462-2912
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
9
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
39-45
pubmed:dateRevised
2010-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2007
pubmed:articleTitle
Kleptoplasty in an Antarctic dinoflagellate: caught in evolutionary transition?
pubmed:affiliation
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. rgast@whoi.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.