Lukas VFN 🇪🇺#Sponges' #symbiosis with #bacteria helps them store toxic #molybdenum to keep predators away
https://phys.org/news/2024-08-sponges-symbiosis-bacteria-toxic-molybdenum.html
Out of the blue: Hyperaccumulation of molybdenum in the Indo-Pacific sponge Theonella conica https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn3923
"Entotheonella serves as a detoxifying organ for accumulating metals inside the body of its #sponge hosts. Hoarding more and more molybdenum, the bacteria convert it from its toxic soluble state into a mineral."
Sponges' symbiosis with bacteria helps them store toxic molybdenum to keep predators away, study shows
A new study at Tel Aviv University found that sponges in the Gulf of Eilat have developed an original way to keep predators away. The researchers found that the sponges contain an unprecedented concentration of the highly toxic mineral molybdenum (Mo). In addition, they identified the bacterium that enables sponges to store such high concentrations of this precious metal and unraveled the symbiosis between the two organisms.
Jon Sullivan
Pete