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      The Macromolecular Basis of Phytoplankton C:N:P Under Nitrogen Starvation

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          Abstract

          Biogeochemical cycles in the ocean are strongly affected by the elemental stoichiometry (C:N:P) of phytoplankton, which largely reflects their macromolecular content. A greater understanding of how this macromolecular content varies among phytoplankton taxa and with resource limitation may strengthen physiological and biogeochemical modeling efforts. We determined the macromolecular basis (protein, carbohydrate, lipid, nucleic acids, pigments) of C:N:P in diatoms and prasinophytes, two globally important phytoplankton taxa, in response to N starvation. Despite their differing cell sizes and evolutionary histories, the relative decline in protein during N starvation was similar in all four species studied and largely determined variations in N content. The accumulation of carbohydrate and lipid dominated the increase in C content and C:N in all species during N starvation, but these processes differed greatly between diatoms and prasinophytes. Diatoms displayed far greater accumulation of carbohydrate with N starvation, possibly due to their greater cell size and storage capacity, resulting in larger increases in C content and C:N. In contrast, the prasinophytes had smaller increases in C and C:N that were largely driven by lipid accumulation. Variation in C:P and N:P was species-specific and mainly determined by residual P pools, which likely represent intracellular storage of inorganic P and accounted for the majority of cellular P in all species throughout N starvation. Our findings indicate that carbohydrate and lipid accumulation may play a key role in determining the environmental and taxonomic variability in phytoplankton C:N. This quantitative assessment of macromolecular and elemental content spanning several marine phytoplankton species can be used to develop physiological models for ecological and biogeochemical applications.

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          Single-step method of RNA isolation by acid guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform extraction.

          A new method of total RNA isolation by a single extraction with an acid guanidinium thiocyanate-phenol-chloroform mixture is described. The method provides a pure preparation of undegraded RNA in high yield and can be completed within 4 h. It is particularly useful for processing large numbers of samples and for isolation of RNA from minute quantities of cells or tissue samples.
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            Processes and patterns of oceanic nutrient limitation

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              Nutritional constraints in terrestrial and freshwater food webs.

              Biological and environmental contrasts between aquatic and terrestrial systems have hindered analyses of community and ecosystem structure across Earth's diverse habitats. Ecological stoichiometry provides an integrative approach for such analyses, as all organisms are composed of the same major elements (C, N, P) whose balance affects production, nutrient cycling, and food-web dynamics. Here we show both similarities and differences in the C:N:P ratios of primary producers (autotrophs) and invertebrate primary consumers (herbivores) across habitats. Terrestrial food webs are built on an extremely nutrient-poor autotroph base with C:P and C:N ratios higher than in lake particulate matter, although the N:P ratios are nearly identical. Terrestrial herbivores (insects) and their freshwater counterparts (zooplankton) are nutrient-rich and indistinguishable in C:N:P stoichiometry. In both lakes and terrestrial systems, herbivores should have low growth efficiencies (10-30%) when consuming autotrophs with typical carbon-to-nutrient ratios. These stoichiometric constraints on herbivore growth appear to be qualitatively similar and widespread in both environments.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Front Microbiol
                Front Microbiol
                Front. Microbiol.
                Frontiers in Microbiology
                Frontiers Media S.A.
                1664-302X
                17 April 2019
                2019
                : 10
                : 763
                Affiliations
                [1] 1Department of Geography and Environment, Mount Allison University , Sackville, NB, Canada
                [2] 2Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Mount Allison University , Sackville, NB, Canada
                [3] 3Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA, United States
                Author notes

                Edited by: James Cotner, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States

                Reviewed by: Michael William Lomas, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, United States; Dedmer B. Van de Waal, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Netherlands

                *Correspondence: Justin D. Liefer, jliefer@ 123456mta.ca

                This article was submitted to Aquatic Microbiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Microbiology

                Article
                10.3389/fmicb.2019.00763
                6479212
                31057501
                2bd497d7-dfe4-4217-ab53-7dae05d818a6
                Copyright © 2019 Liefer, Garg, Fyfe, Irwin, Benner, Brown, Follows, Omta and Finkel.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

                History
                : 08 October 2018
                : 26 March 2019
                Page count
                Figures: 8, Tables: 3, Equations: 0, References: 129, Pages: 16, Words: 0
                Funding
                Funded by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada 10.13039/501100000038
                Funded by: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 10.13039/100000936
                Categories
                Microbiology
                Original Research

                Microbiology & Virology
                phytoplankton,diatoms,prasinophytes,stoichiometry,nitrogen,macromolecules
                Microbiology & Virology
                phytoplankton, diatoms, prasinophytes, stoichiometry, nitrogen, macromolecules

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