The mechanisms underlying interactions between diatoms and bacteria are crucial to understand diatom behaviour and proliferation, and can result in far‐reaching ecological consequences. Recently, 2‐alkyl‐4‐quinolones have been isolated from marine bacteria, both of which (the bacterium and isolated chemical) inhibited growth of microalgae, suggesting these compounds could mediate diatom–bacteria interactions. The effects of several quinolones on three diatom species have been investigated. The growth of all three was inhibited, with half‐maximal inhibitory concentrations reaching the sub‐micromolar range. By using multiple techniques, dual inhibition mechanisms were uncovered for 2‐heptyl‐4‐quinolone (HHQ) in Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Firstly, photosynthetic electron transport was obstructed, primarily through inhibition of the cytochrome b6f complex. Secondly, respiration was inhibited, leading to repression of ATP supply to plastids from mitochondria through organelle energy coupling. These data clearly show how HHQ could modulate diatom proliferation in marine environments.
Recurrent blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata are frequently reported in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea. The impact of these proliferations on other microalgal species inhabiting the same habitats is of interest from an ecological prospective. In vitro experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of O. cf. ovata on the growth of the co-occurring benthic diatoms Licmophora paradoxa, Navicula arenaria and the benthic dinoflagellates Prorocentrum lima and Coolia monotis. Overall, O. cf. ovata exhibited weak allelopathic effects towards these microalgal species, with a reduction in the cell abundance for L. paradoxa and P. lima only. Interestingly, dead cells of L. paradoxa and N. arenaria were observed embedded in the thick mucus surrounding O. cf. ovata cells, suggesting that the mucous layer could act as a toxic phycosphere, especially for non-motile cells. All competitors were further exposed for 24 h to ovatoxins, the major toxins produced by O. cf. ovata, and the maximum quantum yield efficiency of L. paradoxa, N. arenaria and P. lima was affected at a minimum concentration of 10 µg mL−1. We then hypothesized that the diffusion of solubilized ovatoxins in the culture medium affects only moderately the competitors' growth, whereas their accumulation in the mucus would yield deleterious effects. More precisely, the competitors' sensitivity to ovatoxins was enhanced in their stationary phase of growth and resulted from a rapid inhibition of an uncharacterized photosynthetic step downstream photosystem II. Altogether, these results emphasize the predominant role of the O. cf. ovata's mucus in driving ecological interactions and suggest that it can affect the growth of several benthic microalgae by accumulating the potent ovatoxins.Please note that this is an author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available on the publisher Web site.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.