Organelle loss in the endosymbiont ofGymnodinium acidotum (Dinophyceae)

The freshwater dinoflagellateGymnodinium acidotum is known to harbor a cryptomonad endosymbiont whose chloroplasts give the organism its blue-green coloration. Every cell examined from a wild population possessed chloroplasts, mitochondria, and other organelles which are of endosymbiotic origin. Transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy revealed that only 33% of these cells possessed the nucleus of the endosymbiont. The lack of a cryptomonad nucleus in some cells did not appear to affect the cells' ability to photosynthesize or move in response to varying levels of illumination. This represents the first report of a host/endosymbiont relationship in which a significant number of individuals from a given population lack a major endosymbiont organelle.