It\u2019s a tale as old as time. Parasite feeds on another species, taking what it needs and leaving a host-organism corpse in its wake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One might think in the world of microalgae, this doesn\u2019t even occur. Or that parasites there feast on an entire<\/em> single-celled organism since it doesn\u2019t seem like a very big meal. But, alas, that is not necessarily the case. And in this research story, we learn about one plankton hijacking another plankton\u2019s energy, metabolism, and maybe even genetic material \u2013 all while victims are still alive. Spooky!<\/p>\n\n\n\n EMBL scientists in the Schwab group have been part of a research project led by Johan Decelle\u2019s group and Laure Guillou, respectively at CNRS in Grenoble and the Roscoff marine station. As more researchers have worked to characterise and understand ocean parasites in the past decade, these scientists focused on better understanding planktonic relationships \u2013 specifically, a strain of parasitic Amoebophyra<\/em> and its microalgal host Scrippsiella acuminata.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In July, the scientists published findings from their recent research involving 3D electron microscopy combined with transcriptomics. The latter can identify a parasite\u2019s genes and pathways and how they respond to stimuli, including when they are in the midst of overtaking a phytoplankton\u2019s nucleus (Dare we say, \u2018BRAINS!\u2019) to hijack energy-producing processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, that is what happens to S. acuminata<\/em>, a single-celled microalgae known as a dinoflagellate, when it\u2019s invaded by the parasite Amoebophyra<\/em>. S. acuminata<\/em> isn\u2019t necessarily an innocent bystander in this story either. Many dinoflagellates \u2013 including both the parasite and host in this case \u2013 are associated with \u2018red tides\u2019, harmful algal blooms that cause far-reaching environmental and human health consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amoebophyra<\/em> is a parasite but also another kind of dinoflagellate. Much like a virus, one or more will enter the S. acuminata cells <\/em>while the unsuspecting host continues to swim around in its water world as if nothing has changed, even as Amoebophyra<\/em> devours its nucleus. Remarkably, S. acuminata<\/em> continues swimming and photosynthesising as the parasite actively overtakes energy-producing cells in the host\u2019s nucleus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, the parasite begins replicating within this single-celled host, generating more parasites that will eventually depart to find their own hosts and begin this process anew, embarking on their own parasitic conquests. The S. acuminata<\/em> host, however, eventually dies \u2013 a slightly different outcome than something in Zombieland<\/em>. Undead plankton apparently don\u2019t yet seem to exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while this makes for a good Halloween story \u2013 and possibly even your next costume idea \u2013 the science does serve a greater purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis research is really just the start of shedding light on what\u2019s happening in the wider ecosystem,\u201d Decelle said. \u201cWith this type of 3D microscopy, we could observe a process going on inside the nucleus, step by step at nanoscale resolution. Now, it\u2019s a matter of deciphering the mechanisms and seeing where these small activities have implications on a much bigger scale \u2013 the environment in which they live.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plankton parasites provide a zombie story perfect for Halloween. While invading single-celled plankton, these parasites devour the cell\u2019s nucleus and hijack metabolism while the organism remains alive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":53508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[817,4726,13942,5736,382,14023,410],"embl_taxonomy":[19375],"class_list":["post-53322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","tag-ocean","tag-parasite","tag-phytoplankton","tag-planetary-biology","tag-plankton","tag-roscoff","tag-schwab","embl_taxonomy-schwab-team"],"acf":{"featured":true,"show_featured_image":false,"field_target_display":"embl","field_article_language":{"value":"english","label":"English"},"article_intro":" Marine parasites invade single-celled microalgae, devouring the nucleus and hijacking metabolism while the organism remains alive<\/p>\n","related_links":[{"link_description":"Schwab team at EMBL","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/groups\/schwab\/"},{"link_description":"Decelle team at CNRS","link_url":"https:\/\/photosymbiosis.com\/team\/"},{"link_description":"Planetary Biology transversal theme","link_url":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/programme\/research-plans\/planetary-biology\/"},{"link_description":"","link_url":""}],"source_article":[{"publication_title":"Intracellular development and impact of a marine eukaryotic parasite on its zombified microalgal host","publication_link":{"title":"","url":"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41396-022-01274-z","target":""},"publication_authors":"Decelle J. et al. ","publication_source":"The ISME Journal","publication_date":"8 July 2022","publication_doi":"10.1038\/s41396-022-01274-z"}],"in_this_article":false,"press_contact":"None","article_translations":false,"languages":"","vf_locked":false},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[{"uuid":"a:3:{i:0;s:36:\"302cfdf7-365b-462a-be65-82c7b783ebf7\";i:1;s:36:\"64999cc4-9a7c-4fea-8339-0e2acc990e08\";i:2;s:36:\"2dcf8b52-afa2-431f-84be-1bb3efe757e5\";}","parents":[],"name":["Schwab Team"],"slug":"schwab-team","description":"What > Cell biology and biophysics > Schwab Team"}],"yoast_head":"\n