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Association of bacteria with larvae of the gutless protobranch bivalve Solemya reidi (Cryptodonta: Solemyidae)

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Abstract

Rod-shaped bacteria were consistently observed by transmission electron microscopy in the locomotory test of larvae and in the perivisceral cavity of post-larvae of Solemya reidi, a gutless protobranch bivalve known to possess intracellular chemoautotrophic bacterial symbionts in the adult gill. Bacteria develop within granular vesicles in the larval test, where they either remain to be ingested at metamorphosis, or are released into the space separating the test and embryo, to be subsequently ingested through the larval mouth. In either case, bacteria lie within the perivisceral cavity following metamorphosis. Bacteria were not seen either in or on gametes or in gills of juveniles. It is hypothesized that these bacteria represent a transmission stage of the gill symbionts present in adult S. reidi and are not evident in gametes or gills of juveniles due to cryptic packaging within granular vesicles. Perpetuation of this symbiosis would therefore be assured through vertical transmission, as is typical of other marine invertebrate-bacteria endosymbioses.

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  1. R. G. Gustafson

    Present address: Division of Applied Biology, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, 5600 Old Dixie Highway, 34946, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Victoria, V8W 2Y2, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    R. G. Gustafson & R. G. B. Reid

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Communicated by J. M. Lawrence, Tampa

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Contribution No. 602

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Gustafson, R.G., Reid, R.G.B. Association of bacteria with larvae of the gutless protobranch bivalve Solemya reidi (Cryptodonta: Solemyidae). Mar. Biol. 97, 389–401 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397769

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