The sea slug, Pteraeolidia ianthina, can harbor living dinoflagellates (photosynthetic protists) in its skin. These endosymbiotic dinoflagellates reproduce quickly enough to maintain their populations. Low populations do not affect the sea slugs very much, but high populations ( 5 x 10⁵ cells/mg of sea slug protein) can promote sea slug survival.
-If 100,000 sea slug cells together contain 1.0 mg of protein, then what is the minimum number of dinoflagellates per sea slug cell that constitutes a "high," and therefore beneficial, population?

Question

The sea slug, Pteraeolidia ianthina, can harbor living dinoflagellates (photosynthetic protists) in its skin. These endosymbiotic dinoflagellates reproduce quickly enough to maintain their populations. Low populations do not affect the sea slugs very much, but high populations (> 5 x 10⁵ cells/mg of sea slug protein) can promote sea slug survival.
-If 100,000 sea slug cells together contain 1.0 mg of protein, then what is the minimum number of dinoflagellates per sea slug cell that constitutes a "high," and therefore beneficial, population?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the minimum number of dinoflagellates per sea slug cell that constitutes a "high" population, we first determine the total protein content for the threshold of a high population, which is given as > 5 x 10⁵ cells/mg of sea slug protein. Since 100,000 sea slug cells contain 1.0 mg of protein, the minimum number of dinoflagellates for a high population per sea slug cell is calculated as (5 x 10⁵ cells) / (100,000 cells) = 5 cells.

The Sea Slug, Pteraeolidia Ianthina, Can Harbor Living Dinoflagellates (Photosynthetic