Researcher Mattias Obst of the Department of Zoology, as many other marine researchers, has his base at the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences which is a collective name for the marine research station of Göteborg University at Kristineberg outside Lysekil and at Tjärnö outside Strömstad.
In a scientific article, Mattias Obst and his colleagues at the Lovén Centre at Kristineberg describe a completely new species of bacterium. The bacterium, an endosymbiotic procaryot, lives in the intestinal system of the benthic worm Xenoturbella – which is, in turn, also unique for Gullmarsfjorden.
As all other discoverers, the researchers have the honour of naming the new bacterium, and it will be called Endoxenoturbella lovenii.
Unique design
The host of the bacterium, Xenoturbella, is as small as a thumbnail and has a unique body design: it has neither a brain nor reproductive or sensory organs. The unique Xenoturbella is invaluable for studies of the earliest evolution of the world of marine animals.
The finding of the new “Lovén Bacterium” was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology on 15 April and was displayed on the cover of the journal.