Deep-sea mollusk houses bacteria in tiny 'dragon balls,' revealing a new symbiotic structure

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Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology identified a previously unknown specialized structure in a deep-sea mollusk from cold seeps in the South China Sea. The structure supports bacterial symbiosis and may help explain how organisms survive in nearly oxygen-free environments.

Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have discovered a previously unknown specialized organelle structure in a deep-sea mollusk living at cold seeps in the South China Sea. Dedicated to maintaining bacterial symbiosis, this newly identified survival mechanism provides new insights into how deep-sea organisms adapt to nearly oxygen-free environments and opens new directions for research on chemosymbiosis, organelle evolution and deep-sea ecosystems.