Quantifying Inorganic Nitrogen Assimilation by Synechococcus Using Bulk and Single-Cell Mass Spectrometry: A Comparative Study.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms drive most of the major biogeochemical cycles in the ocean, but the rates at which individual species assimilate and transform key elements is generally poorly quantified. One of these important elements is nitrogen, with its availability limiting primary production across a large proportion of the ocean. Nitrogen uptake by marine microbes is typically quantified using bulk-scale approaches, such as Elemental Analyzer-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (EA-IRMS), which averages uptake over entire communities, masking microbial heterogeneity. However, more recent techniques, such as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), allow for elucidation of assimilation rates at the scale at which they occur: the single-cell level. Here, we combine and compare the application of bulk (EA-I

SUBMITTER: Giardina M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6277480 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature