The Potent Respiratory System of Osedax Mucofloris (Siboglinidae, Annelida) - a Prerequisite for the Origin of Bone-Eating Osedax?
The Potent Respiratory System of Osedax mucofloris (Siboglinidae, Annelida) - A Prerequisite for the Origin of Bone-Eating Osedax? Randi S. Huusgaard1, Bent Vismann1, Michael Ku¨ hl1,2, Martin Macnaugton1, Veronica Colmander1, Greg W. Rouse3, Adrian G. Glover4, Thomas Dahlgren5, Katrine Worsaae1* 1 Marine Biological Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Helsingør, Denmark, 2 Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster, Department of Environmental Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 3 Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America, 4 Zoology Department, The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom, 5 Uni Environment/Uni Research, Bergen, Norway Abstract Members of the conspicuous bone-eating genus, Osedax, are widely distributed on whale falls in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. These gutless annelids contain endosymbiotic heterotrophic bacteria in a branching root system embedded in the bones of vertebrates, whereas a trunk and anterior palps extend into the surrounding water. The unique life style within a bone environment is challenged by the high bacterial activity on, and within, the bone matrix possibly causing O2 depletion, and build-up of potentially toxic sulphide. We measured the O2 distribution around embedded Osedax and showed that the bone microenvironment is anoxic. Morphological studies showed that ventilation mechanisms in Osedax are restricted to the anterior palps, which are optimized for high O2 uptake by possessing a large surface area, large surface to volume ratio, and short diffusion distances. The blood vascular system comprises large vessels in the trunk, which facilitate an ample supply of oxygenated blood from the anterior crown to a highly vascularised root structure.
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