Haiku for Thioautotrophs
Few greater bonds can be,
Than between this worm and
microbe
In the sea.
– Dr. JeM YinJoy
How to pronounce Thioautotrophs.
Thioautotrophs (Thigh-Oh-Auto_trofs)
The Spiritual significance
Riftia pachyptila occurs in dense clumps attached to the seafloor substrate (e.g., basalt) at low flow vents.
Encapsulated within the trunk wall in R. pachyptila, is a unique
morphological adaptation designed specifically to house bacterial symbionts:
the trophosome.
Endosymbionts evolved along side their hosts for millennia. So much evolution together was bound to create an in separable bond.
The host, in this case the tube worm Riftia- has bent over backwards and sideways to modify its own physical appearance to accommodate its endosymbionts.
Not out of the goodness of its troposomal heart, but really, because the tube worms cannot live with out its microbial symbionts.
The relationship between the endosymbiont and Riftia tubeworms suggests a deeply spiritual lesson, one that is illustrated best by a Chinese parable rooted in Buddhism that recounts a man’s visit to heaven and to hell.
A Visit to Heaven and Hell:
A man asks his Angel to show him Heaven and Hell.
The angel leads him first a large dining hall, where he sees row after row of tables laden with platters of sumptuous food; yet the people seated around the tables are pale and starved.
Coming closer, he sees that each person is holding a long spoon, but that both his arms are splinted with wooden slats so that he cannot bend either elbow to bring the food to his mouth.
“This is Hell” the Angel informs him.
The Angel then takes him to an identical place.
Entering the dining hall there, he sees the same scene, except in contrast to Hell, the people seated at the tables who had their arms splintered with wooden slates were sitting contentedly, cheerfully talking with each other, as they enjoyed their sumptuous meal.
The man was amazed that each person at a table was feeding the person sitting across from him.
“This is Heaven.” The angel informs him.
How perfectly the Riftia symbiont and its host illustrate this lesson. Without each other, they would suffer in a hell of starvation. Together, they have created heaven, under the sea.
Hypothetical original meeting:
Pre-endosymbiont – “I have to work so hard to scrape together a few HS-, O2 and CO2 molecules just to eek out a living in this undersea vent neighborhood.”
Pre-tube worm host – “ Why don’t you take a load off in my tube chamber? I could use a few extra ergs of ATP from you.”
And the ultimate codependent relationship was born!
Discover more about the science of thioautotroph bacteria by contacting JeM YinJoy!