Abstract
In this study, we investigated the composition of the gill tissue relative to the reproductive status of the lucinid clam Loripes orbiculatus (sensus Poli, 1791) according to seasonal as well as biological parameters to provide insights into the physiological variability of this symbiotic bivalve. Temporal variation in population density was also studied. The species was investigated in Zostera noltii seagrass beds in the Thau lagoon (43°26′52.27′′ N, 3°39′6.25′′ E) in the south of France in a monthly sampling study from May 2013 to July 2015. A total of 257 individual adults of different sizes were analysed according to water temperature and salinity variations. The findings revealed a very stable Loripes density over time, with one single reproductive period during late spring/early summer. We also found that bacteriocytes and mucocytes in the gills were negatively correlated and highly variable in their respective proportions. Bacteriocytes remained dominant during cold periods, whereas mucocytes appeared mainly in the gills of large individuals when the water temperature increased in the spring. As mucocytes were also related with gonadal maturation, we hypothesize that these may allow the host to increase the proportion of heterotrophy in its nutrition during spring primary production to face the metabolic demands required for reproduction. It is possible that mucocytes may also be involved in host immunity.
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The datasets collected and analysed during the study are available from the corresponding author.
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This study was partially funded by the Coastal Marine Ecosystems research unit (ECOSYM) (recurring annual grant) and the Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation research unit (MARBEC). We would like to thank the MARBEC Microbex and histological platforms for their technical support, the Montpellier Ressources Imagerie MRI platform for image analysis, Elise Bradbury for the editorial review of the manuscript, and Matthijs van der Geest for his useful input during discussions.
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This study was designed by AC and CR; the field work was carried out by AC and CR; CR, EG, SH, JLC, and AC collected the data; CR and CS contributed to the software development; MT analysed the data; AC, CR, MT, and JLC wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Roques, C., Grousset, E., Troussellier, M. et al. A trade-off between mucocytes and bacteriocytes in Loripes orbiculatus gills (Bivalvia, Lucinidae): a mixotrophic adaptation to seasonality and reproductive status in a symbiotic species?. Mar Biol 167, 154 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03768-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03768-w