Symbiosis between salamander eggs and green algae: microelectrode measurements inside eggs demonstrate effect of photosynthesis on oxygen concentration

Abstract

Eggs of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, are usually green because of the presence of symbiotic, chlamydomonad algae which inhabit the envelope of each egg. An oxygen-sensitive electrode was used to measure the effect of algal photosynthesis on oxygen concentration inside eggs and within the gelatinous matrix surrounding them. During darkness, oxygen became severely depleted within the eggs, but upon exposure to light oxygen concentrations increased rapidly. Photosynthetic oxygen production by the chlamydomonads exceeded respiratory consumption by the embryo–algae complex and led to oxygen supersaturation inside eggs, even when water surrounding the egg mass was almost anoxic.