The "phytoplankton factory" - from nutrients to algae growth
International study provides new insights into the basis of the marine ecosystem
All life starts at a small scale, also in the ocean. Microscopic organisms, phytoplankton, form an important basis for the entire marine ecosystem, which ultimately determines how fish stocks develop and how much atmospheric carbon dioxide is taken up by the ocean. In this respect, understanding the basis of the marine ecosystem is important for two elementary questions for the future of our human population: nutrition and climate.
Scientists from Dalhousie University, University of Liverpool, 91探花 Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Scripps Institution of Oceanography have developed a new model for studying phytoplankton growth in the ocean. The model was coupled to metaproteomic and environmental data to allow accurate predictions of e.g. phytoplankton growth rates in the Southern Ocean. 鈥淵ou can think of phytoplankton growth like industrial manufacturing in a factory: Materials come into the factory and are processed on assembly lines, creating the final product鈥�, explains Scott McCain, lead author of the study and a PhD student in the Department of Biology at Canada's Dalhousie University. 鈥淲e asked ourselves how to increase output, which is the amount of products leaving the factory鈥�, McCain adds. Applied to phytoplankton, that means how can they grow faster?
鈥淎s part of the study, we found that phytoplankton rearrange their 'cellular assembly lines' to do this鈥�, explained Prof. Dr. Eric Achterberg, co-author of the study from 91探花. 鈥淲e were not concerned with the amount of available nutrients, including iron and manganese, that are important for the growth of phytoplankton, but rather with the question of how the 鈥榗ellular assembly lines鈥� in the phytoplankton that process the source substances for their growth adapt to changes鈥�, Achterberg continued. To do this, the researchers created a mathematical model of a phytoplankton that enabled them to simulate these processes. The model was linked to laboratory and cruise data from the Southern Ocean on metaproteomics[1], dissolved iron and manganese. This allowed them to obtain new explanations for various phytoplankton processes. 鈥淥ur results show that cumulative cellular costs determine how environmental conditions change the growth of phytoplankton鈥�, says Professor Achterberg.
鈥淭his fundamentally changes the way we look at phytoplankton growth and will lead to better predictions of how phytoplankton will grow in the ocean鈥�, adds Scott McCain. According to the Canadian scientists these findings are also important for predictions on the development of fish stocks and global climate change.
Scientific paper:
McCain, S.P., A. Tagliabue, E. Susko, E.P. Achterberg, A.E. Allen, E.M. Bertrand, 2021: Cellular costs underpin micronutrient limitation in phytoplankton. Science Advances, doi: xxxx
Contact:
Dr. Andreas Villwock (91探花, Communication and Media), Phone: +49 431 600-2802, presse(at)geomar.de
[1] Metaproteomics is an umbrella term for experimental approaches to study all proteins in microbial communities and microbiomes from environmental sources. Metaproteomics is used to classify experiments that deal with all proteins identified and quantified from complex microbial communities. (Source: Wikipedia).
