Unlikely BFFs: Spotted Salamanders and Green Algae
Posted on June 14, 2024
If you ask us, spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are pretty darn cool all on their own.
For one thing, they have different respiratory systems at different stages in life: larvae hatch underwater and are born with external gills while juveniles and adults live on land and have lungs. For another thing, their bright yellow spots come in unique patterns that can be used to identify and track individuals, helping researchers understand more about their populations. And, most endearing of all, they always look like they’re smiling!
See?
As if all of that wasn’t awesome enough, one of their most fascinating features is their ability to do something that vertebrates aren’t known to do: photosynthesize.
Now, before you start burning 4th grade science books, hang on a minute! Spotted salamanders need help to get energy through photosynthesis. Their partner in science-related crime? A type of green algae called “Oophila amblystomatis,” which literally means “loves salamander eggs.”
Spotted salamanders and this green algae, commonly called “salamander algae,” have a unique, symbiotic relationship. The salamander algae consume the nitrogen-rich waste that the embryos produce and turn it into oxygen and sugar that the embryos can then use. But wait, it gets cooler!
A Revolutionary Discovery
For over a century, it was thought that the algae only lived in the salamander jelly surrounding the eggs, but scientists later discovered that the algae also live inside the embryos' cells, marking the first example of a photosynthetic organism living inside a vertebrate's cells (a process previously only observed in invertebrates like coral).
This is exciting because vertebrates’ immune systems typically destroy foreign material, but not in this case. Studies have even shown that spotted salamander embryos that contain the salamander algae hatch more quickly than those without the algae, suggesting that the algae benefit embryonic development. Cool, right?!
While this relationship is only known to be specific to spotted salamanders for now, who knows what future research will show. Some scientists think it's reasonable to assume that other species of salamanders might also be supercharged by similar relationships!
Just when you think you've got a handle on things, nature responds with mind-blowing new information. We've accepted that we'll never know it all...but we promise to bring you along for the ride as we sort out little bits and pieces!
