ArticleNature communications2024
Sea cucumbers and their symbiotic microbiome have evolved to feed on seabed sediments.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Environmental Sources and Tissue-Specific Selection Jointly Shape the Bacterial Community of the Sea Cucumber (Microorganisms · 2026Article
- Compartment-Specific Differentiation of Bacterial Communities in the Sea CucumberMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- A Pentaradial and Bilateral Combined Photoreception System in the Sea Cucumber is Mediated by a Blue Light-Sensitive R-Opsin.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Evolutionary conservation and adaptability of cholecystokinin neuropeptide signaling in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.BMC biology · 2026Article
- Temperature Effect on Parasitism in Auricularia Larva of the Sea CucumberAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Seasonal Variation in Diatom Availability and Utilization by Juvenile Japanese Sea CucumberMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Effects of Gallic Acid Supplementation on Intestinal Function and Gut Microbial Community Structure inAquaculture nutrition · 2026Article
- Comparative transcriptomics reveal the common anteroposterior molecular blueprint of adult bilaterian guts.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Article
- A chromosome-level genome assembly for the brown sea cucumber from the Galápagos Islands, Isostichopus fuscus.Scientific data · 2025Article
- Article
- Prokaryotic communities profile from metagenomic libraries of the brown rock sea cucumber (Microbiology resource announcements · 2025Article
- Characterizing Gut Microbiota Composition and Its Correlation with Growth Variation in Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.Marine biotechnology (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Differences in Microbial Community Structure Determine the Functional Specialization of Gut Segments ofMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Sea cucumber grazing linked to enrichment of anaerobic microbial metabolisms in coral reef sediments.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Gut microbial community plasticity as a climate shield mediating sea cucumber resilience to ocean acidification and warming.ISME communications · 2025Article
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31 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Sea cucumbers are predominant deposit feeders in benthic ecosystems, providing protective benefits to coral reefs by reducing disease prevalence. However, how they receive sufficient nutrition from seabed sediments remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate Holothuria leucospilota, an ecologically significant tropical sea cucumber, to elucidate digestive mechanisms underlying marine deposit-feeding. Genomic analysis reveals intriguing evolutionary adaptation characterized by an expansion of digestive carbohydrase genes and a contraction of digestive protease genes, suggesting specialization in digesting microalgae. Developmentally, two pivotal dietary shifts, namely, from endogenous nutrition to planktonic feeding, and from planktonic feeding to deposit feeding, induce changes in digestive tract enzyme profiles, with adults mainly expressing carbohydrases and lipases. A nuanced symbiotic relationship exists between gut microbiota and the host, namely, specific resident bacteria supply crucial enzymes for food digestion, while other bacteria are digested and provide assimilable nutrients. Our study further identifies Holothuroidea lineage-specific lysozymes that are restrictedly expressed in the intestines to support bacterial digestion. Overall, this work advances our knowledge of the evolutionary innovations in the sea cucumber digestive system which enable them to efficiently utilize nutrients from seabed sediments and promote food recycling within marine ecosystems.
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