Energy cost and putative benefits of cellular mechanisms modulating buoyancy in aflagellate marine phytoplankton

Lavoie, M; Raven, JA; Levasseur, M

Energy cost and putative benefits of cellular mechanisms modulating buoyancy in aflagellate marine phytoplankton

Lavoie, M Raven, JA

Levasseur, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Phycology, 2016, 52 (2), pp. 239 - 251
Issue Date:: 2016-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lavoie, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Raven, JA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2789-3297	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Levasseur, M	en_US
dc.date.available	2016-01-15	en_US
dc.date.issued	2016-04-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Phycology, 2016, 52 (2), pp. 239 - 251	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0022-3646	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41398
dc.description.abstract	© 2016 Phycological Society of America. Little information is available on the energetics of buoyancy modulation in aflagellate phytoplankton, which comprises the majority of autotrophic cells found in the ocean. Here, we computed for three aflagellate species of marine phytoplankton (Emiliania huxleyi, Thalassiosira pseudonana, and Ethmodiscus rex) the theoretical minimum energy cost as photons absorbed and nitrogen resource required of the key physiological mechanisms (i.e., replacement of quaternary ammonium by dimethyl-sulfoniopropionate, storage of polysaccharides, and cell wall biosynthesis) affecting the cell's vertical movement as a function of nitrogen (N) availability. These energy costs were also normalized to the capacity of each buoyancy mechanism to modulate sinking or rising rates based on Stokes' law. The three physiological mechanisms could act as ballast in the three species tested in conditions of low N availability at a low fraction (<12%) of the total photon energy cost for growth. Cell wall formation in E. huxleyi was the least costly ballast strategy, whereas in T. pseudonana, the photon energy cost of the three ballast strategies was similar. In E. rex, carbohydrate storage and mobilization appear to be energetically cheaper than modulations in organic solute synthesis to achieve vertical migration. This supports the carbohydrate-ballast strategy for vertical migration for this species, but argues against the theory of replacement of low- or high-density organic solutes. This study brings new insights into the energy cost and potential selective advantages of several strategies modulating the buoyancy of aflagellate marine phytoplankton.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Phycology	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/jpy.12390	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Marine Biology & Hydrobiology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Flagella	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Phytoplankton	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Ions	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Carbon	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Nitrogen	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Minerals	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Silicon Dioxide	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Sulfonium Compounds	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Carbohydrates	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Energy Metabolism	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Movement	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Aquatic Organisms	en_US
dc.title	Energy cost and putative benefits of cellular mechanisms modulating buoyancy in aflagellate marine phytoplankton	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	52	en_US
utslib.for	0607 Plant Biology	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	52	en_US

Abstract:

© 2016 Phycological Society of America. Little information is available on the energetics of buoyancy modulation in aflagellate phytoplankton, which comprises the majority of autotrophic cells found in the ocean. Here, we computed for three aflagellate species of marine phytoplankton (Emiliania huxleyi, Thalassiosira pseudonana, and Ethmodiscus rex) the theoretical minimum energy cost as photons absorbed and nitrogen resource required of the key physiological mechanisms (i.e., replacement of quaternary ammonium by dimethyl-sulfoniopropionate, storage of polysaccharides, and cell wall biosynthesis) affecting the cell's vertical movement as a function of nitrogen (N) availability. These energy costs were also normalized to the capacity of each buoyancy mechanism to modulate sinking or rising rates based on Stokes' law. The three physiological mechanisms could act as ballast in the three species tested in conditions of low N availability at a low fraction (<12%) of the total photon energy cost for growth. Cell wall formation in E. huxleyi was the least costly ballast strategy, whereas in T. pseudonana, the photon energy cost of the three ballast strategies was similar. In E. rex, carbohydrate storage and mobilization appear to be energetically cheaper than modulations in organic solute synthesis to achieve vertical migration. This supports the carbohydrate-ballast strategy for vertical migration for this species, but argues against the theory of replacement of low- or high-density organic solutes. This study brings new insights into the energy cost and potential selective advantages of several strategies modulating the buoyancy of aflagellate marine phytoplankton.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41398