Abstract
Skeletonema costatum was grown at different steady-state growth rates in ammonium or silicate-limited chemostats. The culture was perturbed from its steady-state condition by a single addition of the limiting nutrients ammonium or silicate. The transient response was followed by measuring nutrient disappearance of the liliting perturbation experiment indicate that three distinct modes of uptake of the limiting nutrient can be distinguished; surge uptake (V s ), internally controlled uptake (V i ), and externally controlled uptake (V e ). An interpretation of these three modes of uptake is given and their relation to control of uptake of the limiting nutrient is discussed. The uptake rates of the non-limiting nutrients were shown to be depressed during the surge of the uptake of the limiting nutrient. Kinetic uptake parameters, K s and V max, were obtained from data acquired during the externally controlled uptake segment, V e . The same V max value of 0. 12 h-1, was obtained under either silicate or ammonium limitation. Estimates of K s were 0.4 μg-at NH4-N l-1 and 0.7 μg-at Si l-1. Short-term 15N uptake-rate measurements conducted on nitrogen-limited cultures appear to be a combination of V s or V i , or at lower substrate concentrations V s and V e . It is difficult to separate these different uptake modes in batch or tracer experiments, and ensuing problems in interpretation are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Azam, F., B.B. Hemmingsen and B.E. Volcani: Role of silicon in diatom metabolism. Arch. Mikrobiol. 97, 103–114 (1974)
Bremer, H. and P.P. Dennis: Transition period following a nutritional shift-up in the bacterium Escherichia coli B/r: stable RNA and protein synthesis. J. theor. Biol. 52, 365–382 (1975)
Caperon, J. and J. Meyer: Nitrogen-limited growth of marine phytoplankton. Part II. Uptake kinetics and their role in nutrient limited growth of phytoplankton. Deep-Sea Res. 19, 619–632 (1972)
Cleland, W.: The statistical analysis of enzyme kinetic data. Adv. Enzymol. 29, 1–32 (1967)
Conway, H.L.: The uptake and assimilation of inorganic nitrogen by Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve, Ph.D. Dissertation, 125 pp. University of Washington, Seattle 1974
Davis, C.O.: Effects of changes in light intensity and photoperiod in the silicate-limited continuous culture of the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve, Ph.D. Dissertation, 122 pp. University of Washington, Seattle 1973
—, P.J. Harrison and R.C. Dugdale: Continuous culture of marine diatoms under silicate limitation. I. Synchronized life cycle of Skeletonema costatum. J. Phycol. 9, 175–180 (1973)
Droop, M.R.: Some thoughts on nutrient limitation in algae. J. Phycol. 9, 264–272 (1973)
Eppley, R.W. and E.H. Renger: Nitrogen assimilation of an oceanic diatom in nitrogen-limited continuous culture. J. Phycol. 10, 15–23 (1974)
—, J.N. Rogers and J.L. McCarthy: Half-saturation constants for uptake of nitrate and ammonium by marine phytoplankton. Limnol. Oceanogr. 14, 912–920 (1969)
— and W.H. Thomas: Comparison of half-saturation constants for growth and nitrate uptake of marine phytoplankton. J. Phycol. 5, 375–379 (1969)
Fisher, S., L. Buxbaum, K. Lath, E. Eisenstadt and S. Silver: Regulation of managanese accumulation and exchange in Bacillus subtilis W23. J. Bact. 113, 1373–1380 (1973)
Guillard, R.R.L. and J.H. Ryther: Studies of marine plankton diatoms. I. Cyclotella nana (Hustedt) and Detonula confervacea (Cleve) Gran. Can. J. Microbiol. 8, 229–239 (1962)
Harrison, P.J.: Continuous culture of the marine diatom Skeletonema costatum (Grev.) Cleve, under silicate limitation, Ph.D. Dissertation, 140 pp. University of Washington, Seattle 1974
—, H.L. Conway and R.C. Dugdale: Marine diatoms grown in chemostats under silicate or ammonium limitation. I. Cellular chemical composition and steady-state growth kinetics of Skeletonema costatum. Mar. Biol. 35, 177–186 (1976)
Herbert, D., R. Elsworth and R.E. Telling: The continuous culture of bacteria: a theoretical and experimental study. J. gen. Microbiol. 14, 601–622 (1956)
MacIsaac, J.J. and R.C. Dugdale: Interactions of light and inorganic nitrogen in controlling nitrogen uptake in the sea. Deep-Sea Res. 19, 209–232 (1972)
North, B.B. and G.C. Stephens: Uptake and assimilation of amino acids by Platymonas. II. Increased uptake in nitrogen deficient cells. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods-Hole 140, 242–254 (1971)
Paasche, E.: Silicon and the ecology of marine plankton diatoms. II. Silicate-uptake kinetics in five diatom species. Mar. Biol. 19, 262–269 (1973)
Pavlou, S.P., G. Friederich and J.J. MacIsaac: Quantitative determination of total organic nitrogen and isotope enrichment in marine phytoplankton. Analyt. Biochem. 61, 16–24 (1974)
Rhee, G-Y.: A continuous culture study of phosphate uptake, growth rate and polyphosphate in Scenedesmus sp. J. Phycol. 9, 495–506 (1973)
Schaechter, M.: Growth cells and populations. In: Biochemistry of bacterial cell growth, pp 136–162. Ed. by J. Mandelstom and K. McQuillen. New York: Wiley Press 1968
Shields, D.B. and J.E. Pollack: Chemostat laboratory operating system. Decoscope 12, 1–2 (1972)
Sims, A.P., B.F. Folkes and A.H. Bussey (in part): Mechanisms involved in the regulation of nitrogen assimilation in microorganisms and plants. In: Recent aspects of nitrogen metabolism in plants, pp 91–114. Ed. by E.J. Hewitt and C.V. Cutting. New York, Academic Press 1968
Werner, D.: Die Kieselsäure in Stoffwechsel von Cyclotella cryptica Reiman, Lewis and Guillard. Arch. Mikrobiol. 55, 278–308 (1966)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by M.R. Tripp, Newark
Contribution No. 882 from the Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. This work represents portion of three dissertations submitted to the Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. degree.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Conway, H.L., Harrison, P.J. & Davis, C.O. Marine diatoms grown in chemostats under silicate or ammonium limitation. II. Transient response of Skeletonema costatum to a single addition of the limiting nutrient. Marine Biology 35, 187–199 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390940
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00390940