Cell-specific measurements show nitrogen fixation by particle-attached putative non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

ABSTRACT: Biological nitrogen fixation is a major important source of nitrogen for low-nutrient surface oceanic waters. Nitrogen-fixing (diazotrophic) cyanobacteria are believed to be the primary contributors to this process, but the contribution of non-cyanobacterial diazotrophic organisms in oxygenated surface water, while hypothesized to be important, has yet to be demonstrated. In this study, we used simultaneous ¹⁵N-dinitrogen and ¹³C-bicarbonate incubations combined with nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis to screen tens of thousands of mostly particle-associated, cell-like regions of interest collected from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. These dual isotope incubations allow us to distinguish between non-cyanobacterial and cyanobacterial nitrogen-fixin

SUBMITTER: Harding KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9666432 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature