Mechanisms of increased Trichodesmium fitness under iron and phosphorus co-limitation in the present and future ocean.

ABSTRACT: Nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria supplies critical bioavailable nitrogen to marine ecosystems worldwide; however, field and lab data have demonstrated it to be limited by iron, phosphorus and/or CO2. To address unknown future interactions among these factors, we grew the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Trichodesmium for 1 year under Fe/P co-limitation following 7 years of both low and high CO2 selection. Fe/P co-limited cell lines demonstrated a complex cellular response including increased growth rates, broad proteome restructuring and cell size reductions relative to steady-state growth limited by either Fe or P alone. Fe/P co-limitation increased abundance of a protein containing a conserved domain previously implicated in cell size regulation, suggesting a similar role in Trichodesmiu

SUBMITTER: Walworth NG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4931248 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature