ALBERT

Description: In the Southern Ocean (SO), iron (Fe) limitation strongly inhibits phytoplankton growth and generally decreases their primary productivity. Diatoms are a key component in the carbon (C) cycle, by taking up large amounts of anthropogenic CO2 through the biological carbon pump. In this study, we investigated the effects of Fe availability (no Fe and 4 nM FeCl3 addition) on the physiology of Chaetoceros cf. simplex, an ecologically relevant SO diatom. Our results are the first combining oxygen evolution and uptake rates with particulate organic carbon (POC) build up, pigments, photophysiological parameters and intracellular trace metal (TM) quotas in an Fe-deficient Antarctic diatom. Decreases in both oxygen evolution (through photosynthesis, P) and uptake (respiration, R) coincided with a lowered growth rate of Fe-deficient cells. In addition, cells displayed reduced electron transport rates (ETR) and chlorophyll a (Chla) content, resulting in reduced cellular POC formation. Interestingly, no differences were observed in non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) or in the ratio of gross photosynthesis to respiration (GP:R). Furthermore, TM quotas were measured, which represent an important and rarely quantified parameter in previous studies. Cellular quotas of manganese, zinc, cobalt and copper remained unchanged while Fe quotas of Fe-deficient cells were reduced by 60% compared with High Fe cells. Based on our data, Fe-deficient Chaetoceros cf. simplex cells were able to efficiently acclimate to low Fe conditions, reducing their intracellular Fe concentrations, the number of functional reaction centers of photosystem II (RCII) and photosynthetic rates, thus avoiding light absorption rather than dissipating the energy through NPQ. Our results demonstrate how Chaetoceros cf. simplex can adapt their physiology to lowered assimilatory metabolism by decreasing respiratory losses.

Description: recent study using Fe-limited phytoplankton strains, showed that iron (Fe) uptake rates normalized by cellular surface area were best related to dissolved iron (dFe) concentrations as the inorganic Fe (Fe’) supply rates were not sufficient to satisfy the Fe biological demand. Short-term (24 h) shipboard incubations with the in-situ phytoplankton community were used to measure Fe uptake rates that were normalized per biomass (as particulate organic carbon, POC). Fe uptake rates measured following 55FeCl3 additions (0.05 to 0.9 nM) were fitted to different Fe pools (dFe, Felabile, and Fe’) using the Michaelis-Menten equation. Data showed a similar high conditional stability constant for biological transporters across all sites and phytoplankton size classes, with only a 2-fold variation in the concentrations of cellular transporters. These observations are in line with previous reports that eukaryotic phytoplankton takes up Fe close to the limit imposed by transporters cellular density and uses similar high-affinity Fe uptake systems. To further explore the link between Fe uptake rates and Fe chemistry, we also studied the effect of Fe additions preequilibrated with different Fe-binding ligands (L) including: the siderophore desferrioxamine B, two carbohydrates (glucuronic acid and carrageenan) and two different bacterial exopolycarbohydrates (L6 and L22, referred as EPS). For all stations, phytoplankton were able to acquire Fe associated to DFB as previously reported, however, different Fe:L ratios prevent quantitative comparison with other studies. Iron bound to carbohydrates, glucuronic acid, carrageenan and EPS could enhance or decrease Fe uptake rates in comparison to equimolar FeCl3 addition. These results illustrate that the effect of such L on Fe uptake rates will depend on the in-situ plankton community and their chemical structure. The variation of the Fe’ concentrations was able to explain up to 69% of the Fe uptake rates observed for the Antarctic communities. This relationship with Fe’ was related to the fact that the Fe’ maximal supply, due to the dissociation of FeL, was enough to satisfy the measured Fe uptakes rates. Calculations using previous reports in contrasted regions of the Southern Ocean, showed that Fe’ maximal supply was greater than Fe uptake rates measured in 80% of the cases. Moreover, considering photo- and redox-chemistry as well as kinetical situations prevailing in the field, Fe’ should not be overlooked as a pool able to satisfy most of the Fe biological demand. Finally, this study points towards the potential that the GEOTRACES Fe chemical speciation data represent to explore Fe uptake rates at a larger scale in this vast Fe-limited oceanic region.

Description: Iron availability strongly governs the growth of Southern Ocean phytoplankton. To investigate how iron limitation affects photosynthesis as well as the uptake of carbon and iron in the Antarctic diatom Chaetoceros simplex, a combination of chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements and radiotracer incubations in the presence and absence of chemical inhibitors was conducted. Iron limitation in C. simplex led to a decline in growth rates, photochemical efficiency and structural changes in photosystem II (PSII), including a reorganisation of photosynthetic units in PSII and an increase in size of the functional absorption cross section of PSII. Iron-limited cells further exhibited a reduced plastoquinone pool and decreased photosynthetic electron transport rate, while non-photochemical quenching and relative xanthophyll pigment content were strongly increased, suggesting a photoprotective response. Additionally, iron limitation resulted in a strong decline in carbon fixation and thus the particulate organic carbon quotas. Inhibitor studies demonstrated that, independent of the iron supply, carbon fixation was dependent on internal, but not on extracellular carbonic anhydrase activity. Orthovanadate more strongly inhibited iron uptake in iron-limited cells, indicating that P-type ATPase transporters are involved in iron uptake. The stronger reduction in iron uptake by ascorbate in iron-limited cells suggests that the re-oxidation of iron is required before it can be taken up and further supports the presence of a high-affinity iron transport pathway. The measured changes to photosystem architecture and shifts in carbon and iron uptake strategies in C. simplex as a result of iron limitation provide evidence for a complex interaction of these processes to balance the iron requirements for photosynthesis and carbon demand for sustained growth in iron-limited waters.

Description: Chlorophyll a fluorescence was used to look at the effect of desiccation on the photophysiology in two beachrock microbial biofilms from the intertidal rock platform of Heron Island, Australia. The photophysiological response to desiccation differed between the beachrock microbial communities. The black biofilm from the upper shoreline, dominated by Calothrix sp., showed a response typical of desiccation-tolerant cyanobacteria, where photosynthesis closed down during air exposure with a rapid and complete recovery upon rehydration. In contrast, the pink biofilm from the mid-intertidal zone, dominated by Blennothrix sp., showed no distinct response to desiccation stress and instead maintained reduced photosynthesis throughout drying and re-wetting cycles. Spatial differences in photosynthetic activity within the black biofilm were evident with a faster recovery rate of photosynthesis in the surface cyanobacteria than in the deeper layers of the biofilm. There was no variation with depth in the pink biofilm. The photophysiological differences in desiccation responses between the beachrock biofilms exemplify the ecological niche specialisation of these complex microbial communities, where the functional differences help to explain their vertical distribution on the intertidal shoreline.