Study
Diverse deep-sea anglerfishes share a genetically reduced luminous symbiont that is acquired from the environment
Baker, Lydia J.; Freed, Lindsay L.; Easson, Cole G.; Lopez, Jose V.; Fenolio, Danté; Sutton, Tracey T.; Nyholm, Spencer V.; Hendry, Tory A.
eLife, 2019
Sequenced the luminous bacteria from the lures of several deep-sea anglerfish species and examined their genomes for the signatures of host restriction, testing whether the symbionts are inherited or taken from seawater.
- Studied in
- Ceratioidei, Bacteria
- Sample size
- symbiont genomes sequenced from several anglerfish species
The symbionts have substantially reduced genomes — the signature of a host-restricted lifestyle — yet retain the genes needed for a free-living stage, and closely related bacteria are shared across anglerfish species. The evidence indicates the bacteria are acquired from the environment rather than inherited from the mother.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Anglerfish light symbionts occupy an intermediate state: genomically reduced like inherited symbionts, but still environmentally acquired.
How NatureHQ reads it
The record that stops NatureHQ writing that anglerfish are born with their light. They are not: each fish acquires bacteria from the water, in a habitat where finding anything is famously difficult — which is a harder problem than the lure itself and is not solved.
- Deep-sea anglerfishes are rarely caught and specimens are few, so sampling is thin.
- Environmental acquisition is inferred from genome content rather than observed directly, which is not currently possible.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: eLife Sciences PublicationsPublished in eLife under CC BY 4.0.
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.