Discovery of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in corals
Discovery of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in corals
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1099128
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发表时间：
2004-08-13
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Falkowski, PG
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lesser, MP;Mazel, CH;Falkowski, PG
加勒比珊瑚Montastraea cavernosa的群体呈现出一种受太阳激发的橙红色荧光，其光谱与珊瑚所表达的多种荧光蛋白相似。这种荧光的来源是珊瑚宿主细胞内单细胞、无异形胞的共生蓝细菌中的藻红蛋白。这些蓝细菌与珊瑚的共生甲藻（虫黄藻）共存，并表达固氮酶。在氮受限的含虫黄藻的珊瑚中存在这种原核共生体，表明固氮作用可能是这种共生关系中这种受限元素的一个重要来源。
Colonies of the Caribbean coral Montastraea cavernosa exhibit a solar-stimulated orange-red fluorescence that is spectrally similar to a variety of fluorescent proteins expressed by corals. The source of this. uorescence is phycoerythrin in unicellular, nonheterocystis, symbiotic cyanobacteria within the host cells of the coral. The cyanobacteria coexist with the symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae) of the coral and express the nitrogen. xing enzyme nitrogenase. The presence of this prokaryotic symbiont in a nitrogen-limited zooxanthellate coral suggests that nitrogen fixation may be an important source of this limiting element for the symbiotic association.