%0 Journal Article %J Current Biology %D 2019 %T Algal remodeling in a ubiquitous planktonic photosymbiosis %A Decelle, Johan %A Stryhanyuk, Hryhoriy %A Gallet, Benoit %A Veronesi, Giulia %A Schmidt, Matthias %A Balzano, Sergio %A Marro, Sophie %A Uwizeye, Clarisse %A Jouneau, Pierre-Henri %A Lupette, Josselin %A Jouhet, Juliette %A Maréchal, Éric %A Schwab, Yannick %A Schieber, Nicole L. %A Tucoulou, Rémi %A Richnow, Hans %A Finazzi, Giovanni %A Musat, Niculina %K RCC1719 %X Photosymbiosis between single-celled hosts and microalgae is common in oceanic plankton, especially in oligotrophic surface waters. However, the functioning of this ecologically important cell-cell interaction and the subcellular mechanisms allowing the host to accommodate and benefit from its microalgae remain enigmatic. Here, using a combination of quantitative single-cell structural and chemical imaging techniques (FIB-SEM, nanoSIMS, Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence), we show that the structural organization, physiology, and trophic status of the algal symbionts (the haptophyte Phaeocystis) significantly change within their acantharian hosts compared to their free-living phase in culture. In symbiosis, algal cell division is blocked, photosynthesis is enhanced, and cell volume is increased by up to 10-fold with a higher number of plastids (from 2 to up to 30) and thylakoid membranes. The multiplication of plastids can lead to a 38-fold increase of the total plastid volume in a cell. Subcellular mapping of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) and their stoichiometric ratios shows that symbiotic algae are impoverished in phosphorous and suggests a higher investment in energy-acquisition machinery rather than in growth. Nanoscale imaging also showed that the host supplies a substantial amount of trace metals (e.g., iron and cobalt), which are stored in algal vacuoles at high concentrations (up to 660 ppm). Sulfur mapping reveals a high concentration in algal vacuoles that may be a source of antioxidant molecules. Overall, this study unveils an unprecedented morphological and metabolic transformation of microalgae following their integration into a host, and it suggests that this widespread symbiosis is a farming strategy wherein the host engulfs and exploits microalgae. %B Current Biology %V 29 %P 968–978.e4 %8 mar %G eng %U https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982219301320#undfig1 %R 10.1016/J.CUB.2019.01.073