IEDA
Project Information
Siderophore utilization by dinoflagellates as a strategy for iron acquisition
Start Date:
2022-01-15
End Date:
2024-12-31
Description/Abstract
Iron is a limiting nutrient for primary production in 30% of the global ocean, including the Southern Ocean. Dinoflagellates thrive in a wide variety of coastal and oceanic environments, including iron-limited regions. As iron is a biologically essential element for the growth and proliferation of marine algae, dinoflagellates may have evolved strategic mechanisms to combat iron limitation. Presently, these mechanisms have been scantly investigated in dinoflagellates. Here, we compare the growth response of the well-studied diatom Thalasiossira weissflogii to that of dinoflagellates Amphidinium carterae, Heterocapsa triquetra, and Symbiodinium tridacnidorum to different iron conditions: (a) iron-replete medium, (b) iron-limited medium, and (c) iron-limited medium supplemented with the siderophore Deferoxamine B (DFB). Preliminary observations suggest that A. carterae is able to assimilate iron bound to DFB, in contrast to T. weissflogii and Heterocapsa triquetra. A survey of the transcriptome of A. carterae suggests that it possess genes analogous to the TonB-dependent receptors (TBDRs) associated with iron-siderophore transport in prokaryotes. Additional species of dinoflagellates will be observed to investigate the ubiquity of this strategy in dinoflagellates. A more comprehensive understanding of dinoflagellate acclimation to low iron conditions is key to understanding their ecophysiology and the biogeochemical dynamics of iron-limited regions.
Personnel
Person Role
Granger, Julie Investigator and contact
Lin, Senjie Co-Investigator
McDonald, Sydney Researcher
Funding
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems Award # 2207011
AMD - DIF Record(s)
Data Management Plan
None in the Database
Product Level:
Not provided

This project has been viewed 30 times since May 2019 (based on unique date-IP combinations)