Metabolic Reliance on Photosynthesis Depends on Both Irradiance and Prey Availability in the Mixotrophic Ciliate, Strombidium cf. basimorphum.

ABSTRACT: Many species of the ciliate genus Strombidium can acquire functional chloroplasts from a wide range of algal prey and are thus classified as generalist non-constitutive mixotrophs. Little, however, is known about the influence of irradiance and prey availability on their ability to exploit the photosynthetic potential of the chloroplasts, and how this may explain their spatial and temporal distribution in nature. In this study, inorganic carbon uptake, growth, and ingestion rates were measured for S. cf. basimorphum under three different irradiances (10, 40, and 120 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) when acclimated to three different prey densities (5 × 10³, 1 × 10⁴, and 4 × 10⁴ cells mL^-1), as well as when allowed

SUBMITTER: Hughes EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8245785 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature