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| 2. |
- Bunse, Carina, et al.
(author)
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Spatio-Temporal Interdependence of Bacteria and Phytoplankton during a Baltic Sea Spring Bloom
- 2016
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In: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-302X. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In temperate systems, phytoplankton spring blooms deplete inorganic nutrients and are major sources of organic matter for the microbial loop. In response to phytoplankton exudates and environmental factors, heterotrophic microbial communities are highly dynamic and change their abundance and composition both on spatial and temporal scales. Yet, most of our understanding about these processes comes from laboratory model organism studies, mesocosm experiments or single temporal transects. Spatial -temporal studies examining interactions of phytoplankton blooms and bacterioplankton community composition and function, though being highly informative, are scarce. In this study, pelagic microbial community dynamics (bacteria and phytoplankton) and environmental variables were monitored during a spring bloom across the Baltic Proper (two cruises between North Germany to Gulf of Finland). To test to what extent bacterioplankton community composition relates to the spring bloom, we used next generation amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, phytoplankton diversity analysis based on microscopy counts and population genotyping of the dominating diatom Skeletonema rnarinoi. Several phytoplankton bloom related and environmental variables were identified to influence bacterial community composition. Members of Bacteroidetes and Alphaproteobacteria dominated the bacterial community composition but the bacterial groups showed no apparent correlation with direct bloom related variables. The less abundant bacterial phyla Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Verrucomicrobia, on the other hand, were strongly associated with phytoplankton biomass, diatom:dinoflagellate ratio, and colored dissolved organic matter (cDOM). Many bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) showed high niche specificities. For example, particular Bacteroidetes OTUs were associated with two distinct genetic clusters of S. marinoi. Our study revealed the complexity of interactions of bacterial taxa with inter- and intraspecific genetic variation in phytoplankton. Overall, our findings imply that biotic and abiotic factors during spring bloom influence bacterial community dynamics in a hierarchical manner.
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| 3. |
- Fistarol, Giovana, et al.
(author)
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Temporary cyst formation in phytoplankton: a response to allelopathic competitors?
- 2004
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In: Environmental Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1462-2912 .- 1462-2920. ; 6:8, s. 791-798
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Competition among phytoplankton for limiting resources may involve direct or indirect interactions. A direct interaction of competitors is the release of chemicals that inhibit other species, a process known as allelopathy. Here, we investigated the allelopathic effect of three toxic microalgae species (Alexandrium tamarense, Karenia mikimotoi and Chrysochromulina polylepis) on a natural population of the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella trochoidea. Our major findings were that in addition to causing death of S. trochoidea cells, the allelopathic species also induced the formation of temporary cysts in S. trochoidea. Because cysts were not lysed, encystment may act as a defence mechanism for S. trochoidea to resist allelochemicals, especially when the allelopathic effect is moderate. By forming temporary cysts, S. trochoidea may be able to overcome the effect of allelochemicals, and thereby have an adaptive advantage over other organisms unable to do so.
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| 4. |
- Godhe, Anna, 1967, et al.
(author)
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Physical barriers and environmental gradients cause spatial and temporal genetic differentiation of an extensive algal bloom
- 2016
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In: Journal of Biogeography. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0305-0270 .- 1365-2699. ; 43:6, s. 1130-1142
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: To test if a phytoplankton bloom is panmictic, or whether geographical and environmental factors cause spatial and temporal genetic structure.Location: Baltic Sea.Method: During four cruises, we isolated clonal strains of the diatom Skeletonema marinoifrom 9 to 10 stations along a 1132 km transect and analysed the genetic structure using eight microsatellites. Using F-statistics and Bayesian clustering analysis we determined if samples were significantly differentiated. A seascape approach was applied to examine correlations between gene flow and oceanographic connectivity, and combined partial Mantel test and RDA based variation partitioning to investigate associations with environmental gradients.Results: The bloom was initiated during the second half of March in the southern and the northern- parts of the transect, and later propagated offshore. By mid-April the bloom declined in the south, whereas high phytoplankton biomass was recorded northward. We found two significantly differentiated populations along the transect. Genotypes were significantly isolated by distance and by the south–north salinity gradient, which illustrated that the effects of distance and environment were confounded. The gene flow among the sampled stations was significantly correlated with oceanographic connectivity. The depletion of silica during the progression of the bloom was related to a temporal population genetic shift.Main conclusions: A phytoplankton bloom may propagate as a continuous cascade and yet be genetically structured over both spatial and temporal scales. The Baltic Sea spring bloom displayed strong spatial structure driven by oceanographic connectivity and geographical distance, which was enhanced by the pronounced salinity gradient. Temporal transition of conditions important for growth may induce genetic shifts and different phenotypic strategies, which serve to maintain the bloom over longer periods.
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| 5. |
- Gross, Elisabeth, et al.
(author)
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Allelochemical interactions among aquatic primary producers
- 2012. - 1
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In: Chemical Ecology in Aquatic Systems. - Oxford : Oxford University Press. - 9780199583102 ; , s. 196-209
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Allelopathy is the study of biochemically-driven organismic interactions among primary producers. One organism affects others by the release of allelochemicals that are transported to the target cells, and cause a negative (or positive) response. Most aquatic allelochemicals are amphiphilic, thus have a sufficient solubility in the water, and at the same time can bind to and penetrate lipophilic cell membranes. Allelopathic interactions are not static but are influenced by variable environmental stressors. Resource availability can both affect the production and release of allelochemicals by the producing organism, but also influence the susceptibility of the target cells. The biosynthesis and excretion of allelochemicals might involve costs for the producing organism, and these costs will only be balanced if a net gain, i.e. better resource availability such as space or nutrients or secondary benefits, e.g. predator deterrence, are achieved. Allelopathic effects against cooccurring organisms might lead to coevolutionary responses, i.e. a lower susceptibility of target cells or to more advanced allelochemicals. Target organisms from different habitats might be more susceptible, especially if they are not acquainted with the allelochemicals. The transfer of laboratory results on allelopathy to realistic field conditions is complex, and might in the long run benefit from advanced analytical and molecular methods identifying specific target cell responses in situ.
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| 7. |
- Leblond, Jeffrey D., et al.
(author)
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Sterols of the Green-Pigmented, Freshwater Raphidophyte, Gonyostomum semen, from Scandinavian Lakes
- 2013
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In: Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1066-5234 .- 1550-7408. ; 60:4, s. 399-405
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sterols are a class of membrane-reinforcing, ringed lipids which have a long history of examination in algae as a means of deriving chemotaxonomic relationships and as potential lipidic biomarkers. The Raphidophyceae represent a class of harmful, bloom-forming, marine and freshwater algae. To date, there have been four published examinations of their sterol composition, focusing primarily on brown-pigmented, marine species within the genera, Chattonella, Fibrocapsa, and Heterosigma. Lacking in these examinations has been the species Gonyostomum semen Ehrenb., which is a green-pigmented, freshwater raphidophyte with a worldwide distribution. The goal of this study was to examine the sterol composition of this nuisance alga, determine the potential of using its sterol profile as a biomarker, and finally to determine if there is any intraspecific variability between isolates. We have examined 21 isolates of G. semen from a number of Scandinavian lakes, and all were found to produce two major sterols, 24-ethylcholesta-5,22E-dien-3-ol and 24-ethylcholest-5-en-3-ol, and 24-methylcholest-5-en-3-ol as a minor sterol; the presence of 24-ethylcholesta-5,22E-dien-3-ol differentiates G. semen from brown-pigmented, marine raphidophytes which generally lack it. The results of this study indicate that isolates of G. semen from geographically separate lakes across Finland and Scandinavia have the same sterol biosynthetic pathway, and that there is no evolutionary divergence between the isolates with regard to sterol composition. The sterols of G. semen are not considered to be useful biomarkers for this particular organism because they are commonly found in other algae and plants.
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| 8. |
- Lebret, Karen, et al.
(author)
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Genetic diversity within and genetic differentiation between blooms of a microalgal species
- 2012
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In: Environmental Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1462-2912 .- 1462-2920. ; 14:9, s. 2395-2404
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The field of genetic diversity in protists, particularly phytoplankton, is under expansion. However, little is known regarding variation in genetic diversity within populations over time. The aim of our study was to investigate intrapopulation genetic diversity and genetic differentiation in the freshwater bloom-forming microalga Gonyostomum semen (Raphidophyceae). The study covered a 2-year period including all phases of the bloom. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to determine the genetic structure and diversity of the population. Our results showed a significant differentiation between samples collected during the two blooms from consecutive years. Also, an increase of gene diversity and a loss of differentiation among sampling dates were observed over time within a single bloom. The latter observations may reflect the continuous germination of cysts from the sediment. The life cycle characteristics of G. semen, particularly reproduction and recruitment, most likely explain a high proportion of the observed variation. This study highlights the importance of the life cycle for the intraspecific genetic diversity of microbial species, which alternates between sexual and asexual reproduction.
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| 9. |
- Lebret, Karen, et al.
(author)
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Grazing resistance allows bloom formation and may explain invasion success of Gonyostomum semen
- 2012
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In: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 57:3, s. 727-734
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The nuisance alga Gonyostomum semen (Raphidophyceae) has expanded in the Nordic countries during the last decades and can dominate lake phytoplankton communities almost completely. A possible explanation to its dominance could be limited grazing by zooplankton. We investigated the potential grazing pressure on G. semen using an experimental approach supported by field data. We determined the grazing rate by cladocerans, calanoid copepods, and Chaoborus larvae to determine which were able to feed on G. semen. Only the large cladoceran Daphnia magna was able to feed successfully on G. semen. The large cell size of G. semen was likely a limiting factor for the filtering apparatus of smaller cladocerans. The copepod Eudiaptomus gracilis did not graze on G. semen, although the mechanism behind this selective feeding is still unknown. In addition to the experimental study, we quantified the zooplankton and phytoplankton communities in 40 lakes to determine the composition and abundance of the zooplankton communities co-occurring with G. semen, suggesting that large cladoceran species were not present in lakes where G. semen occurred. Hence, the growth of G. semen is not significantly controlled by grazing in natural systems, which likely facilitates bloom formation and invasion success of G. semen.
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| 10. |
- Lebret, Karen, et al.
(author)
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Phylogeography of the freshwater raphidophyte Gonyostomum semen confirms a recent expansion in northern Europe by a single haplotype
- 2015
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In: Journal of Phycology. - : Wiley. - 0022-3646 .- 1529-8817. ; 51:4, s. 768-781
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gonyostmum semen is a freshwater raphidophyte that has increased in occurrence and abundance in several countries in northern Europe since the 1980s. More recently, the species has expanded rapidly also in north-eastern Europe, and it is frequently referred to as invasive. To better understand the species history, we have explored the phylogeography of G. semen using strains from northern Europe, United States, and Japan. Three regions of the ribosomal RNA gene (small subunit [SSU], internal transcribed spacer [ITS] and large subunit [LSU]) and one mitochondrial DNA marker (cox1) were analyzed. The SSU and partial LSU sequences were identical in all strains, confirming that they belong to the same species. The ITS region differentiated the American from the other strains, but showed high intra-strain variability. In contrast, the mitochondrial marker cox1 showed distinct differences between the European, American, and Japanese strains. Interestingly, only one cox1 haplotype was detected in European strains. The overall low diversity and weak geographic structure within northern European strains supported the hypothesis of a recent invasion of new lakes by G. semen. Our data also show that the invasive northern European lineage is genetically distinct from the lineages from the other continents. Finally, we concluded that the mitochondrial cox1 was the most useful marker in determining large-scale biogeographic patterns in this species.
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