ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS OF CARBON ALLOCATION IN MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON AS A FUNCTION OF NITROGEN AVAILABILITY: A FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY APPROACH1: C ALLOCATION AS A FUNCTION OF N AVAILABILITY
Abstract
An imbalance in the cellular C:N ratio may appreciably affect C allocation in algal cells. The consequences of these rearrangements of cellular pools on cell energetics, ecological fitness, and evolutionary trajectories are little known, although they are expected to be substantial. We investigated the fate of C in 11 microalgae cultured semicontinuously at three [NO3 (-) ] and constant pCO2 . We developed a new computational method for the semiquantitative use of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy data for the determination of macromolecular composition. No obvious relationship was observed between the taxonomy and the allocation strategies adopted by the 11 species considered in this study. Not all species responded to a lower N availability by accumulating lipids or carbohydrates: Dunaliella parva W. Lerche and Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle et Heimdal were homeostatic with respect to organic cell composition. A hyperbolic dependence of the lipid concentration from cell volume was observed. The level of reduction of organic constituents of green algae was parabolically related to size and was modulated in response to changes in N availability; the same was not true for the species bearing a "red" chloroplast. The above observations are discussed with respect to phytoplankton species composition and palatability for grazers, oleogenesis, and overall cell energetics.
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Nutritional variability causes changes in the macromolecular composition of microalgae cells.
“Several studies to improve lipid production in microalgae have shown that nutritional variability causes changes in the macromolecular composition of microalgae cells [5,6].”
From Response to nutrient variation on lipid productivity in green microalgae captured using second derivative FTIR and Raman spectroscopy (2022) · cites this paper as [6]
Not all microalgae species respond to nutrient scarcity by accumulating carbohydrates or lipids.
“Although nutritional scarcity has caused metabolic changes in microalgae, such as the accumulation of carbohydrates and lipids, not all species have responded to nutrient scarcity by accumulating carbohydrates or lipids [6,13,14].”
From Response to nutrient variation on lipid productivity in green microalgae captured using second derivative FTIR and Raman spectroscopy (2022) · cites this paper as [6]
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- Authors
- Palmucci, M., Ratti, S., & Giordano, M.
- Affiliations
- Marche Polytechnic University (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Giordano, Mario
- ORCID
- Giordano, Mario
- Venue
- Journal of Phycology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2011-03-21
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 313-323
- ISSN
- 0022-3646 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1581807545
- Cited by
- 104
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 6.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Phycology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Algal biology and biofuel production
- Keywords
- carbon allocation, nitrogen availability, marine microalgae, C/N ratio, macromolecular composition, lipid accumulation, carbohydrate accumulation, Dunaliella parva, Thalassiosira pseudonana, FTIR spectroscopy, cell energetics, phytoplankton community structure, red algae
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