Contrasting Mixotrophic Lifestyles Reveal Different Ecological Niches in Two Closely Related Marine Protists.

ABSTRACT: Many marine microbial eukaryotes combine photosynthetic with phagotrophic nutrition, but incomplete understanding of such mixotrophic protists, their functional diversity, and underlying physiological mechanisms limits the assessment and modeling of their roles in present and future ocean ecosystems. We developed an experimental system to study responses of mixotrophic protists to availability of living prey and light, and used it to characterize contrasting physiological strategies in two stramenopiles in the genus Ochromonas. We show that oceanic isolate CCMP1393 is an obligate mixotroph, requiring both light and prey as complementary resources. Interdependence of photosynthesis and heterotrophy in CCMP1393 comprises a significant role of mitochondrial respiration in photosynthetic elect

SUBMITTER: Wilken S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7065223 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature