| 1. |
- Adam, Birgit, et al.
(author)
-
N2-fixation, ammonium release and N-transfer to the microbial and classical food web within a plankton community
- 2016
-
In: The ISME Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1751-7362 .- 1751-7370. ; 10:2, s. 450-459
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigated the role of N2-fixation by the colony-forming cyanobacterium, Aphanizomenon spp., for the plankton community and N-budget of the N-limited Baltic Sea during summer by using stable isotope tracers combined with novel secondary ion mass spectrometry, conventional mass spectrometry and nutrient analysis. When incubated with 15N2, Aphanizomenon spp. showed a strong 15N-enrichment implying substantial 15N2-fixation. Intriguingly, Aphanizomenon did not assimilate tracers of 15NH4+ from the surrounding water. These findings are in line with model calculations that confirmed a negligible N-source by diffusion-limited NH4+ fluxes to Aphanizomenon colonies at low bulk concentrations (<250 nm) as compared with N2-fixation within colonies. No N2-fixation was detected in autotrophic microorganisms <5 mum, which relied on NH4+ uptake from the surrounding water. Aphanizomenon released about 50% of its newly fixed N2 as NH4+. However, NH4+ did not accumulate in the water but was transferred to heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms as well as to diatoms (Chaetoceros sp.) and copepods with a turnover time of ~5 h. We provide direct quantitative evidence that colony-forming Aphanizomenon releases about half of its recently fixed N2 as NH4+, which is transferred to the prokaryotic and eukaryotic plankton forming the basis of the food web in the plankton community. Transfer of newly fixed nitrogen to diatoms and copepods furthermore implies a fast export to shallow sediments via fast-sinking fecal pellets and aggregates. Hence, N2-fixing colony-forming cyanobacteria can have profound impact on ecosystem productivity and biogeochemical processes at shorter time scales (hours to days) than previously thought.
|
|
| 2. |
- Klawonn, Isabell, et al.
(author)
-
Cell-specific nitrogen- and carbon-fixation of cyanobacteria in a temperate marine system (Baltic Sea)
- 2016
-
In: Environmental Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1462-2912 .- 1462-2920 .- 1758-2229. ; 18:12, s. 4596-4609
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We analysed N2- and carbon (C) fixation in individual cells of Baltic Sea cyanobacteria by combining stable isotope incubations with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Specific growth rates based on N2- and C-fixation were higher for cells of Dolichospermum spp. than for Aphanizomenon sp. and Nodularia spumigena. The cyanobacterial biomass, however, was dominated by Aphanizomenon sp., which contributed most to total N2-fixation in surface waters of the Northern Baltic Proper. N2-fixation by Pseudanabaena sp. and colonial picocyanobacteria was not detectable. N2-fixation by Aphanizomenon sp., Dolichospermum spp. and N. spumigena populations summed up to total N2-fixation, thus these genera appeared as sole diazotrophs within the Baltic Sea's euphotic zone, while their mean contribution to total C-fixation was 21%. Intriguingly, cell-specific N2-fixation was 8-fold higher at a coastal station compared to an offshore station, revealing coastal zones as habitats with substantial N2-fixation. At the coastal station, the cell-specific C- to N2-fixation ratio was below the cellular C:N ratio, i.e., N2 was assimilated in excess to C-fixation, whereas the C- to N2-fixation ratio exceeded the C:N ratio in offshore sampled diazotrophs. Our findings highlight SIMS as a powerful tool not only for qualitative but also for quantitative N2-fixation assays in aquatic environments.
|
|
| 3. |
- Svedén, Jennie B., et al.
(author)
-
High cell-specific rates of nitrogen and carbon fixation by the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon sp at low temperatures in the Baltic Sea
- 2015
-
In: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 91:12
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aphanizomenon is a widespread genus of nitrogen (N-2)-fixing cyanobacteria in lakes and estuaries, accounting for a large fraction of the summer N-2-fixation in the Baltic Sea. However, information about its cell-specific carbon (C)- and N-2-fixation rates in the early growth season has not previously been reported. We combined various methods to study N-2-fixation, photosynthesis and respiration in field-sampled Baltic Sea Aphanizomenon sp. during early summer at 10 degrees C. Stable isotope incubations at in situ light intensities during 24 h combined with cell-specific secondary ion mass spectrometry showed an average net N-2-fixation rate of 55 fmol N cell(-1) day(-1). Dark net N-2-fixation rates over a course of 12 h were 20% of those measured in light. C-fixation, but not N-2-fixation, was inhibited by high ambient light intensities during daytime. Consequently, the C: N fixation ratio varied substantially over the diel cycle. C-and N-2-fixation rates were comparable to those reported for Aphanizomenon sp. in August at 19 degrees C, using the same methods. High respiration rates (23% of gross photosynthesis) were measured with C-14-incubations and O-2-microsensors, and presumably reflect the energy needed for high N-2-fixation rates. Hence, Aphanizomenon sp. is an important contributor to N-2-fixation at low in situ temperatures in the early growth season.
|
|
