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Diver P, Ward BA, Cunliffe M. Physiological and morphological plasticity in response to nitrogen availability of a yeast widely distributed in the open ocean. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2024:fiae053. [PMID: 38599628 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiae053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Yeasts are prevalent in the open ocean, yet we have limited understanding of their ecophysiological adaptations, including their response to nitrogen availability, which can have a major role in determining the ecological potential of other planktonic microbes. In this study, we characterised the nitrogen uptake capabilities and growth responses of marine-occurring yeasts. Yeast isolates from the North Atlantic Ocean were screened for growth on diverse nitrogen substrates, and across a concentration gradient of three environmentally relevant nitrogen substrates: nitrate, ammonium, and urea. Three strains grew with enriched nitrate while two did not, demonstrating that nitrate utilisation is present but not universal in marine yeasts, consistent with existing knowledge of non-marine yeast strains. Naganishia diffluens MBA_F0213 modified the key functional trait of cell size in response to nitrogen concentration, suggesting yeast cell morphology changes along chemical gradients in the marine environment. Meta-analysis of the reference DNA barcode in public databases revealed that the genus Naganishia has a global ocean distribution, strengthening the environmental applicability of the culture-based observations. This study provides novel quantitative understanding of the ecophysiological and morphological responses of marine-derived yeasts to variable nitrogen availability in vitro, providing insight into the functional ecology of yeasts within pelagic open ocean environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poppy Diver
- Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Ben A Ward
- School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Michael Cunliffe
- Marine Biological Association, Plymouth, UK
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
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Langley B, Halloran PR, Power A, Rickaby REM, Chana P, Diver P, Thornalley D, Hacker C, Love J. A new method for isolating and analysing coccospheres within sediment. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20727. [PMID: 33244023 PMCID: PMC7692543 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77473-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Size is a fundamental cellular trait that is important in determining phytoplankton physiological and ecological processes. Fossil coccospheres, the external calcite structure produced by the excretion of interlocking plates by the phytoplankton coccolithophores, can provide a rare window into cell size in the past. Coccospheres are delicate however and are therefore poorly preserved in sediment. We demonstrate a novel technique combining imaging flow cytometry and cross-polarised light (ISX+PL) to rapidly and reliably visually isolate and quantify the morphological characteristics of coccospheres from marine sediment by exploiting their unique optical and morphological properties. Imaging flow cytometry combines the morphological information provided by microscopy with high sample numbers associated with flow cytometry. High throughput imaging overcomes the constraints of labour-intensive manual microscopy and allows statistically robust analysis of morphological features and coccosphere concentration despite low coccosphere concentrations in sediments. Applying this technique to the fine-fraction of sediments, hundreds of coccospheres can be visually isolated quickly with minimal sample preparation. This approach has the potential to enable rapid processing of down-core sediment records and/or high spatial coverage from surface sediments and may prove valuable in investigating the interplay between climate change and coccolithophore physiological/ecological response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth Langley
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK
| | - Paul R Halloran
- Geography, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK.
| | - Ann Power
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Rosalind E M Rickaby
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
| | - Prabhjoat Chana
- Luminex B.V., Het Zuiderkruis 1, 5215 MV, 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands
| | - Poppy Diver
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
| | - David Thornalley
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, WC1H 9LG, UK
| | - Christian Hacker
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - John Love
- Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
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Diver C, Diver P. Contributions Towards a Survey of the Plants and Animals of South Haven Peninsula, Studland Heath, Dorset: III. Orthoptera. J Anim Ecol 1933. [DOI: 10.2307/939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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