Sinking towards destiny: High throughput measurement of phytoplankton sinking rates through time-resolved fluorescence plate spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: Diatoms are marine primary producers that sink in part due to the density of their silica frustules. Sinking of these phytoplankters is crucial for both the biological pump that sequesters carbon to the deep ocean and for the life strategy of the organism. Sinking rates have been previously measured through settling columns, or with fluorimeters or video microscopy arranged perpendicularly to the direction of sinking. These side-view techniques require large volumes of culture, specialized equipment and are difficult to scale up to multiple simultaneous measures for screening. We established a method for parallel, large scale analysis of multiple phytoplankton sinking rates through top-view monitoring of chlorophyll a fluorescence in microtitre well plates. We verified the method through e

SUBMITTER: Bannon CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5626032 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature