The photon menace: kleptoplast protection in the photosynthetic sea slugElysia timida

Absorption of excessive light by photosymbiotic organisms leads to the production of reactive oxygen species that can damage both symbiont and host. This is highly relevant in sacoglossan sea slugs that host functional chloroplasts “stolen” from their algal foods (kleptoplasts), due to limited repair capacities resulting from the absence of algal nuclear genes. Here we experimentally demonstrate i) a host-mediated photoprotection mechanism in the photosynthetic sea slug Elysia timida, characterized by the closure of the parapodia under high irradiance and the reduction of kleptoplast light exposure; ii) the activation of a reversible xanthophyll cycle in kleptoplasts, which allows excessive energy to be dissipated. The described mechanisms reduce photoinactivation under high irradiances. We conclude that both host-mediated behavioural and plastid-based physiological photoprotective mechanisms can mitigate oxidative stress induced by high light in E. timida. These mechanisms may play an important role in the establishment of long-term photosynthetic active kleptoplasts.