Trichodesmium's strategies to alleviate phosphorus limitation in the future acidified oceans
2014
Spungin, Dina | Berman‐Frank, Ilana | Levitan, Orly
Global warming may exacerbate inorganic nutrient limitation, including phosphorus (P), in the surface‐waters of tropical oceans that are home to extensive blooms of the marine diazotrophic cyanobacterium, Trichodesmium. We examined the combined effects of P limitation and pCO₂, forecast under ocean acidification scenarios, on Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101 cultures. We measured nitrogen acquisition, glutamine synthetase activity, C uptake rates, intracellular Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) concentration and the pool sizes of related key proteins. Here, we present data supporting the idea that cellular energy re‐allocation enables the higher growth and N₂fixation rates detected in Trichodesmium cultured under high pCO₂. This is reflected in altered protein abundance and metabolic pools. Also modified are particulate organic carbon and nitrogen production rates, enzymatic activities, and cellular ATP concentrations. We suggest that adjusting these cellular pathways to changing environmental conditions enables Trichodesmium to compensate for low P availability and to thrive in acidified oceans. Moreover, elevated pCO₂could provide Trichodesmium with a competitive dominance that would extend its niche, particularly in P‐limited regions of the tropical and subtropical oceans.
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