Strategies among phytoplankton in response to alleviation of nutrient stress in a subtropical gyre ...

• Main Authors: Cassar, N., Lampe, R.H., Marchetti, A, Wang, S.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2019
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17615/tn7c-4933; https://cdr.lib.unc.edu/concern/articles/st74d116w

Despite generally low primary productivity and diatom abundances in oligotrophic subtropical gyres, the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre (NASG) exhibits significant diatom-driven carbon export on an annual basis. Subsurface pulses of nutrients likely fuel brief episodes of diatom growth, but the exact mechanisms utilized by diatoms in response to these nutrient injections remain understudied within near-natural settings. Here we simulated delivery of subsurface nutrients and compare the response among eukaryotic phytoplankton using a combination of physiological techniques and metatranscriptomics. We show that eukaryotic phytoplankton groups exhibit differing levels of transcriptional responsiveness and expression of orthologous genes in response to release from nutrient limitation. In particular, strategies for use of newly delivered nutrients are distinct among phytoplankton groups. Diatoms channel new nitrate to growth-related strategies while physiological measurements and gene expression patterns of ...