Habitat shapes the lipidome of the tropical photosynthetic sea slug Elysia crispata.

Abstract

Sacoglossan sea slugs have attracted considerable scientific attention due to their capacity to retain functional macroalgal chloroplasts inside their cells. This endosymbiotic association is nutritionally relevant for these organisms and represents an interesting research issue for biotechnological applications. The Caribbean species Elysia crispata can integrate chloroplasts from different macroalgal species. The lipidome of chloroplasts includes lipid classes unique to these photosynthetic organelles. Specialized lipids, such as the glycolipids MGDG, DGDG, and SQDG, are essential for maintaining the integrity of both the thylakoid membranes and the overall chloroplast membrane structure. Additionally, lipids are a diverse group of biomolecules playing essential roles at nutritional and physiological levels. A combined approach using LC-HR-MS and MS/MS was employed to determine the polar lipid profile of the photosynthetic sea slug E. crispata from two habitats in the north-western tropical Atlantic (Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano and Mahahual) and two different feeding conditions (fed and after 1 week of starvation). Significant differences were identified in the abundance of structural and signalling phospholipids (PC, PI, PG, PS, CL) suggesting different nutritional states between populations. The composition of glycolipids demonstrated a clear separation by habitat, but not by feeding conditions. The lower abundance of glycolipids in the Mahahual samples suggests a lower density of chloroplasts in their tissues compared to Veracruz individuals. These results corroborate that 1 week of starvation is insufficient to initiate the degradation of plastid membranes. This study confirms the advantages of using lipidomics as a tool to enhance our knowledge of the ecology of marine invertebrates.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-025-00281-1.