TY - JOUR
T1 - Preferential utilization of inorganic polyphosphate over other bioavailable phosphorus sources by the model diatoms Thalassiosira spp.
AU - Diaz, Julia M.
AU - Steffen, Rachel
AU - Sanders, James G.
AU - Tang, Yuanzhi
AU - Duhamel, Solange
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under grants 1559124 (JMD), 1736967 (JMD), 1737083 (SD) and 1559087 (YT), as well as a Junior Faculty Seed Grant from the University of Georgia Research Foundation (JMD). The authors thank Sydney Plummer for assistance with flow cytometry analysis. The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript are deposited at the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (http://bco-dmo.org) under project number 747715.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2019/7
Y1 - 2019/7
N2 - Polyphosphates and phosphomonoesters are dominant components of marine dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP). Collectively, DOP represents an important nutritional phosphorus (P) source for phytoplankton growth in the ocean, but the contribution of specific DOP sources to microbial community P demand is not fully understood. In a prior study, it was reported that inorganic polyphosphate was not bioavailable to the model diatoms Thalassiosira weissflogii and Thalassiosira pseudonana. However, in this study, we show that the previous finding was a misinterpretation based on a technical artefact of media preparation and that inorganic polyphosphate is actually widely bioavailable to Thalassiosira spp. In fact, orthophosphate, inorganic tripolyphosphate (3polyP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine monophosphate supported equivalent growth rates and final growth yields within each of four strains of Thalassiosira spp. However, enzyme activity assays revealed in all cultures that cell-associated hydrolysis rates of 3polyP were typically more than ~10-fold higher than degradation of ATP and the model phosphomonoester compound 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate. These results build on prior work, which showed the preferential utilization of polyphosphates in the cell-free exudates of Thalassiosira spp., and suggest that inorganic polyphosphates may be a key bioavailable source of P for marine phytoplankton.
AB - Polyphosphates and phosphomonoesters are dominant components of marine dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP). Collectively, DOP represents an important nutritional phosphorus (P) source for phytoplankton growth in the ocean, but the contribution of specific DOP sources to microbial community P demand is not fully understood. In a prior study, it was reported that inorganic polyphosphate was not bioavailable to the model diatoms Thalassiosira weissflogii and Thalassiosira pseudonana. However, in this study, we show that the previous finding was a misinterpretation based on a technical artefact of media preparation and that inorganic polyphosphate is actually widely bioavailable to Thalassiosira spp. In fact, orthophosphate, inorganic tripolyphosphate (3polyP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine monophosphate supported equivalent growth rates and final growth yields within each of four strains of Thalassiosira spp. However, enzyme activity assays revealed in all cultures that cell-associated hydrolysis rates of 3polyP were typically more than ~10-fold higher than degradation of ATP and the model phosphomonoester compound 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate. These results build on prior work, which showed the preferential utilization of polyphosphates in the cell-free exudates of Thalassiosira spp., and suggest that inorganic polyphosphates may be a key bioavailable source of P for marine phytoplankton.
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U2 - 10.1111/1462-2920.14630
DO - 10.1111/1462-2920.14630
M3 - Article
C2 - 30972877
AN - SCOPUS:85065478413
SN - 1462-2912
VL - 21
SP - 2415
EP - 2425
JO - Environmental Microbiology
JF - Environmental Microbiology
IS - 7
ER -