ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2023
A predatory gastrula leads to symbiosis-independent settlement in Aiptasia.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Phagocytosis of microbial symbionts supports embryonic nutrition in the sponge Halichondria panicea.Microbiome · 2026Article
- Symbiosis collapses during development of asexual offspring in the absence of heterotrophic feeding in a model cnidarian-algal symbiosis.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Article
- Microbiome depletion and recovery in the sea anemone,mSystems · 2024Article
- Linking cell biology and ecology to understand coral symbiosis evolution.PLoS biology · 2024Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
The planula larvae of the sea anemone Aiptasia have so far not been reported to complete their life cycle by undergoing metamorphosis into adult forms. This has been a major obstacle in their use as a model for coral-dinoflagellate endosymbiosis. Here, we show that Aiptasia larvae actively feed on crustacean nauplii, displaying a preference for live prey. This feeding behavior relies on functional stinging cells, indicative of complex neuronal control. Regular feeding leads to significant size increase, morphological changes, and efficient settlement around 14 d postfertilization. Surprisingly, the presence of dinoflagellate endosymbionts does not affect larval growth or settlement dynamics but is crucial for sexual reproduction. Our findings finally close Aiptasia's life cycle and highlight the functional nature of its larvae, as in Haeckel's Gastrea postulate, yet reveal its active carnivory, thus contributing to our understanding of early metazoan evolution.
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