Divergent Chemosymbiosis-Related Characters in Thyasira cf. gouldi (Bivalvia: Thyasiridae)

Within the marine bivalve family Thyasiridae, some species have bacterial chemosymbionts associated with gill epithelial cells while other species are asymbiotic. Although the abundance of symbionts in a particular thyasirid species may vary, the structure of their gills (i.e., their frontal-abfront...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS ONE
Main Authors: Batstone, Rebecca T., Laurich, Jason R., Salvo, Flora, Dufour, Suzanne C.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science 2014
Subjects:
Research Article
Newfoundland
Northwest Atlantic
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3962460
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24658402
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0092856
Description
Summary:Within the marine bivalve family Thyasiridae, some species have bacterial chemosymbionts associated with gill epithelial cells while other species are asymbiotic. Although the abundance of symbionts in a particular thyasirid species may vary, the structure of their gills (i.e., their frontal-abfrontal thickening) does not. We examined gill structure in a species tentatively identified as Thyasira gouldi from a Northwest Atlantic fjord (Bonne Bay, Newfoundland) and found remarkable differences among specimens. Some individuals had thickened gill filaments with abundant symbionts, while others had thin filaments and lacked symbionts. We could differentiate symbiotic and asymbiotic specimens based on the size and outline of their shell as well as 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA and CO1 sequences. The wide morphological, genetic and symbiosis-related disparity described herein suggests that chemosymbiosis may influence host divergence, and that Thyasira gouldi forms a cryptic species complex.

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