CO-EVOLUTION OF LUMINOUS BACTERIA AND THEIR EUKARYOTIC HOSTS

Abstract

Several species of three genera of luminous bacteria from marine and soil environments are known to form specific symbioses with fish, squid, urochordates, and nematodes. These bacteria contain a unique and easily detectable enzyme, bacterial luciferase, which allows the detection of the bacteria even when they cannot be cultured from animal tissue. The bacteria-animal associations vary; they range from transient, nonspecific gut symbionts in many fishes to highly specific, nonculturable, intracellular symbionts in pyrosomes. The study of these microbe-animal symbioses may allow understanding of the alterations that occur in the partners during the establishment of intracellular organelles. These studies are incomplete, in particular the level of partner integration, the nature of the metabolic exchange, the mechanism of transmission of symbionts to offspring, and the identification of the cellular inclusions as modified bacteria are not always known. However, the outline of what is likely to be a continuous evolutionary sequence of luminous bacterial symbionts with their various animal hosts is becoming clear. As more of these symbioses are studied, we anticipate that new systems will be found that represent states between those described here, and that the luminous bacteria will provide a living model for the gradual evolution from free-living microbes in intracellular organelles.