Dissolved organic phosphorus bond-class utilization by Synechococcus

Dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) contains compounds with phosphoester, phosphoanhydride, and phosphorus–carbon bonds. While DOP holds significant nutritional value for marine microorganisms, the bioavailability of each bond-class to the widespread cyanobacterium Synechococcus remains largely unknown. This study evaluates bond-class specific DOP utilization by Synechococcus strains from open and coastal oceans. Both strains exhibited comparable growth rates when provided phosphate, a phosphoanhydride [3-polyphosphate and 45-polyphosphate], or a DOP compound with both phosphoanhydride and phosphoester bonds (adenosine 5^'-triphosphate). Growth rates on phosphoesters [glucose-6-phosphate, adenosine 5^'-monophosphate, bis(4-methylumbelliferyl) phosphate] were variable, and neither strain grew on selected phosphorus–carbon compounds. Both strains hydrolyzed 3-polyphosphate, then adenosine 5^'-triphosphate, and lastly adenosine 5^'-monophosphate, exhibiting preferential enzymatic hydrolysis of phosphoanhydride bonds. The strains’ exoproteomes contained phosphorus hydrolases, which combined with enhanced cell-free hydrolysis of 3-polyphosphate and adenosine 5^'-triphosphate under phosphate deficiency, suggests active mineralization of phosphoanhydride bonds by these exoproteins. Synechococcus alkaline phosphatases presented broad substrate specificities, including activity toward the phosphoanhydride 3-polyphosphate, with varying affinities between strains. Collectively, these findings underscore the potentially significant role of compounds with phosphoanhydride bonds in Synechococcus phosphorus nutrition and highlight varied growth and enzymatic responses to molecular diversity within DOP bond-classes, thereby expanding our understanding of microbially mediated DOP cycling in marine ecosystems.