Spatial and temporal distributions of prochlorophyte picoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean

Olson, Robert J.; Chisholm, Sallie W.; Zettler, Erik R.; Altabet, Mark A.; Dusenberry, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.1016/0198-0149(90)90109-9

Cited by 394 publications

(314 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…It is important to stress that, in contrast with previous studies reporting temporal di!erences in productivity associated with variations in nutrient supply (e.g. Glover et al, 1988;Olson et al, 1990;Marra et al, 1992), the changes we observed in the rate of primary production were not accompanied by a similar degree of variability in phytoplankton biomass, which remained remarkably constant in oligotrophic waters throughout the three cruises (Fig. 6).…”

Section: Temporal Variabilitycontrasting

confidence: 99%

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Marañón

Holligan

Varela

et al. 2000

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

197

157

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The latitudinal distributions of phytoplankton biomass, composition and production in the Atlantic Ocean were determined along a 10,000-km transect from 503N to 503S in October 1995, May 1996 and October 1996. Highest levels of euphotic layer-integrated chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration (75}125 mg Chl m\ ) were found in North Atlantic temperate waters and in the upwelling region o! NW Africa, whereas typical Chl a concentrations in oligotrophic waters ranged from 20 to 40 mg Chl m\ . The estimated concentration of surface phytoplankton carbon (C) biomass was 5}15 mg C m\ in the oligotrophic regions and increased over 40 mg C m\ in richer areas. The deep chlorophyll maximum did not seem to constitute a biomass or productivity maximum, but resulted mainly from an increase in the Chl a to C ratio and represented a relatively small contribution to total integrated productivity. Primary production rates varied from 50 mg C m\ d\ at the central gyres to 500}1000 mg C m\ d\ in upwelling and higher latitude regions, where faster growth rates ( ) of phytoplankton ( '0.5 d\ ) were also measured. In oligotrophic waters, microalgal growth was consistently slow [surface averaged 0.21$0.02 d\ (mean$SE)], representing (20% of maximum expected growth. These results argue against the view that the subtropical gyres are characterized by high phytoplankton turnover rates. The latitudinal variations in were inversely correlated to the changes in the depth of the nitracline and positively correlated to those of the integrated nitrate concentration, supporting the case for the role of nutrients in controlling the large-scale distribution of phytoplankton growth rates. We observed a large degree of temporal 0967-0637/00/$ -see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 9 6 7 -0 6 3 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 8 7 -4 variability in the phytoplankton dynamics in the oligotrophic regions: productivity and growth rates varied in excess of 8-fold, whereas microalgal biomass remained relatively constant. The observed spatial and temporal variability in the biomass speci"c rate of photosynthesis is at least three times larger than currently assumed in most satellite-based models of global productivity.

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Section: Temporal Variabilitycontrasting

confidence: 99%

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Marañón

Holligan

Varela

et al. 2000

Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

197

157

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…0.125% v/v) for 10 min, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at À80 1C until samples could be processed in the laboratory using an influx flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA). Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus populations were identified and quantified based on their unique autofluorescence and scatter signals (Olson et al, 1990a(Olson et al, , 1990b. Prochlorococcus could not always be clearly distinguished in the upper 40 m at BATS from June-September, thus these profiles were excluded from depth-integrated counts in Figure 2.…”

Section: Flow Cytometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal dynamics of Prochlorococcus ecotypes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

et al. 2010

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To better understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of Prochlorococcus populations, and how these populations co-vary with the physical environment, we followed monthly changes in the abundance of five ecotypes-two high-light adapted and three low-light adapted-over a 5-year period in coordination with the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series (BATS) and Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) programs. Ecotype abundance displayed weak seasonal fluctuations at HOT and strong seasonal fluctuations at BATS. Furthermore, stable 'layered' depth distributions, where different Prochlorococcus ecotypes reached maximum abundance at different depths, were maintained consistently for 5 years at HOT. Layered distributions were also observed at BATS, although winter deep mixing events disrupted these patterns each year and produced large variations in ecotype abundance. Interestingly, the layered ecotype distributions were regularly reestablished each year after deep mixing subsided at BATS. In addition, Prochlorococcus ecotypes each responded differently to the strong seasonal changes in light, temperature and mixing at BATS, resulting in a reproducible annual succession of ecotype blooms. Patterns of ecotype abundance, in combination with physiological assays of cultured isolates, confirmed that the low-light adapted eNATL could be distinguished from other low-light adapted ecotypes based on its ability to withstand temporary exposure to high-intensity light, a characteristic stress of the surface mixed layer. Finally, total Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus dynamics were compared with similar time series data collected a decade earlier at each location. The two data sets were remarkably similar-testimony to the resilience of these complex dynamic systems on decadal time scales.

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“…Flow cytometric analysis of environmental populations and cultured isolates An Influx flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) was employed to measure cell numbers for the determination of relative cell size and chlorophyll per cell based on the unique autofluorescence and scatter signals of Prochlorococcus (Olson et al, 1990). When counting isolates, the relative cell size and chlorophyll per cell were approximated by normalizing forward-angle light scatter and red fluorescence per cell, respectively, to 2 mm-diameter Fluoresbrite beads (Polysciences, Warrington, PA, USA).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These MDA reactions produce enough DNA for genome sequencing, thus enabling genomic analysis of specific microbes without the need for cultivation. Prochlorococcus is ideally suited for examination with both metagenomics and single-cell genomics as it is well represented in metagenomic surveys of marine communities Rusch et al, 2007), has 12 reference genomes from cultured strains that span the diversity of cultured clades to serve as templates for recruiting metagenomic reads (Kettler et al, 2007), and finally, it is easily identified and sorted based on its unique autofluoresence signature (Olson et al, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology of uncultured Prochlorococcus clades revealed through single-cell genomics and biogeographic analysis

et al. 2012

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Prochlorococcus is the numerically dominant photosynthetic organism throughout much of the world’s oceans, yet little is known about the ecology and genetic diversity of populations inhabiting tropical waters. To help close this gap, we examined natural Prochlorococcus communities in the tropical Pacific Ocean using a single-cell whole-genome amplification and sequencing. Analysis of the gene content of just 10 single cells from these waters added 394 new genes to the Prochlorococcus pan-genome—that is, genes never before seen in a Prochlorococcus cell. Analysis of marker genes, including the ribosomal internal transcribed sequence, from dozens of individual cells revealed several representatives from two uncultivated clades of Prochlorococcus previously identified as HNLC1 and HNLC2. While the HNLC clades can dominate Prochlorococcus communities under certain conditions, their overall geographic distribution was highly restricted compared with other clades of Prochlorococcus. In the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, these clades were only found in warm waters with low Fe and high inorganic P levels. Genomic analysis suggests that at least one of these clades thrives in low Fe environments by scavenging organic-bound Fe, a process previously unknown in Prochlorococcus. Furthermore, the capacity to utilize organic-bound Fe appears to have been acquired horizontally and may be exchanged among other clades of Prochlorococcus. Finally, one of the single Prochlorococcus cells sequenced contained a partial genome of what appears to be a prophage integrated into the genome.

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Spatial and temporal distributions of prochlorophyte picoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean

Cited by 394 publications

References 17 publications

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Basin-scale variability of phytoplankton biomass, production and growth in the Atlantic Ocean

Temporal dynamics of Prochlorococcus ecotypes in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

Ecology of uncultured Prochlorococcus clades revealed through single-cell genomics and biogeographic analysis

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