Symbiosis between bacteria and oceanic clonal sea star larvae in the western North Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Marine Biology
• Main Author: Bosch, I.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 1992
• Subjects: Symbiosis; Sea stars; Starfishes; Larvae; Bacteria; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00350041; http://digitool.fcla.edu:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=3333204

Bacteria were present in the majority of clonal sea star bipinnariae (Luidia sp.) collected between June 1987 and August 1990 from oceanic populations in the subtropical western North Atlantic Ocean. Light and electron microscopy revealed dense aggregations of bacteria within lobes of the epidermal cuticle in the gastric region of larvae. Gram-negative rods and less-common elongate spiral bacteria were observed, always in close association with branching epidermal microvilli. Intact and partially digested bacteria occurred in vesicles and phagosomes within epidermal cells, a probable indication of phagocytotic activity by the host. The association of larvae of Luidia sp. and bacteria ranged widely on both geographical and temporal scales. This manuscript is an author version with the final publication available at http://www.springerlink.com and may be cited as: Bosch, I. (1992). Symbiosis between bacteria and oceanic clonal sea star larvae in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Marine Biology, 114(3), 495-502. doi:10.1007/BF00350041 Florida Atlantic University. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute contribution #905.