TURBOGEN: Computer-controlled vertically oscillating grid system for small-scale turbulence studies on plankton

Amato, Alberto; Fortini, Stefania; Watteaux, Romain; Diano, Marcello; Espa, Stefania; Esposito, Serena; Ferrante, Maria Immacolata; Peters, Francesc; Iudicone, Daniele; d’Alcalà, Maurizio Ribera

doi:10.1063/1.4944813

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The experiment was performed using TURBOGEN 64 , a prototypic instrument that consists of six 13 L Plexiglass ® cylinders for algal growth, integrated with a fully digitally controlled high-performance engine that allows vertical movement of circular grids to generate turbulence in the cylinders.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient consumption and chain tuning in diatoms exposed to storm-like turbulence

Dell'Aquila¹,

Ferrante²,

Lagomarsino³

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Current information on the response of phytoplankton to turbulence is linked to cell size and nutrient availability. Diatoms are considered to be favored by mixing as dissolved nutrients are more easily accessible for non-motile cells. We investigated how diatoms exploit microscale turbulence under nutrient repletion and depletion conditions. Here, we show that the chain-forming diatom Chaetoceros decipiens, continues to take up phosphorus and carbon even when silicon is depleted during turbulence. Our findings indicate that upon silica depletion, during turbulence, chain spectra of C. decipiens remained unchanged. We show here that longer chains are maintained during turbulence upon silica depletion whereas under still conditions, shorter chains are enriched. We interpret this as a sign of good physiological state leading to a delay of culture senescence. Our results show that C. decipiens senses and responds to turbulence both in nutrient repletion and depletion. This response is noteworthy due to the small size of the species. The coupling between turbulence and biological response that we depict here may have significant ecological implications. Considering the predicted increase of storms in Northern latitudes this response might modify community structure and succession. Our results partly corroborate Margalef’s mandala and provide additional explanations for that conceptualization.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient consumption and chain tuning in diatoms exposed to storm-like turbulence

Dell'Aquila¹,

Ferrante²,

Lagomarsino³

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…Considering that the cell concentrations in all cylinders were comparable, there was no effect of light attenuation. We also considered that cells in turbulence experienced a fluctuating light regime with respect to those in still 45 but since the illumination was from the side and the cylinder radius was 0.12 m 28 , the maximum light variation between the wall and the centre of the cylinder was less than 5%, and overall fluctuation in the 3D space of the cylinder accounted for no more than 13%, even at the maximum cell concentration recorded.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Temperature for culture maintenance was set at 18 ± 1 °C, photoperiod at 12 L:12D and irradiance at 80 µmol photons·m −2 ·s −1 . Experiments were run using TURBOGEN 28 , a prototypic instrument composed of six 13-L cylinders for algal growth. Supplementary Fig.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To this aim we applied measured levels of turbulence, in the order of those found in the field 27 , to the diatom Chaetoceros decipiens using a prototypic turbulence generator (TURBOGEN 28 ) and performed both microscopic inspection of chain lengths and transcriptomic analyses. Chain formation is often put in relation to turbulence 13 and C. decipiens displays the peculiar trait of being able to control chain length 29 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Marine diatoms change their gene expression profile when exposed to microscale turbulence under nutrient replete conditions

Amato

Dell'Aquila

Musacchia

et al. 2017

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Diatoms are a fundamental microalgal phylum that thrives in turbulent environments. Despite several experimental and numerical studies, if and how diatoms may profit from turbulence is still an open question. One of the leading arguments is that turbulence favours nutrient uptake. Morphological features, such as the absence of flagella, the presence of a rigid exoskeleton and the micrometre size would support the possible passive but beneficial role of turbulence on diatoms. We demonstrate that in fact diatoms actively respond to turbulence in non-limiting nutrient conditions. TURBOGEN, a prototypic instrument to generate natural levels of microscale turbulence, was used to expose diatoms to the mechanical stimulus. Differential expression analyses, coupled with microscopy inspections, enabled us to study the morphological and transcriptional response of Chaetoceros decipiens to turbulence. Our target species responds to turbulence by activating energy storage pathways like fatty acid biosynthesis and by modifying its cell chain spectrum. Two other ecologically important species were examined and the occurrence of a morphological response was confirmed. These results challenge the view of phytoplankton as unsophisticated passive organisms.Oceanic plankton are characterised by a huge biodiversity spanning over many phyla. The different life strategies and behaviours displayed by such diverse organisms were selected also to cope with a patchy and variable 3D world driven by water motion 1 . Key factors for their survival, e.g., light availability, nutrient concentrations, prey abundance and water temperature, are all strongly tuned by the fluid motion at different scales. Fluid motion introduces kinetic energy in the system and turbulence is the way kinetic energy is transferred, through a dissipation cascade, over several eddy-like structures down to the smallest scale. Below this scale, energy is dissipated to heat via the friction of viscosity and water motion cannot prevail over molecular diffusion but can control it by changing local gradients 2, 3 . This is particularly important for unicellular phytoplankton which are surrounded by a fluid boundary layer where molecular diffusion is the dominant process and only solute (nutrient) chemical gradients assure cell provisioning. A distortion of the boundary layer would change these gradients, hence nutrients would diffuse more rapidly, enhancing the uptake rate 4 . For non-motile cells, like diatoms, the distortion of the boundary layer can be produced only by sinking or by the shear generated by the decay of turbulent kinetic energy. Therefore there is no more turbulence, as a random motion of water parcels, but the effects of turbulence which dissipates though sheared flow. Shear stress is what cells below Kolmogorov scale would ultimately perceive

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“…The complexity of turbulence poses a significant challenge in its systematic characterization within laboratory settings (Peters and Marrase, 2000). Various methods have been utilized to induce controlled small-scale turbulence in laboratory or enclosed systems, including paddles, oscillating grids, and shakers, which have been extensively used in biological experiments due to their well-developed techniques and adaptability (Sanford, 1997;Amato et al, 2016). Compared to the orbital shaker system, paddles and oscillating grids can generate more spatially consistent, stable, and isotropic small-scale turbulence (Büchs, 2001;Kaku et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of turbulence on the growth of three different diatom species

Liu,

Yu,

Yao

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The effects of turbulence on phytoplankton growth have received considerable attentions. However, the complexity of turbulence poses a significant challenge to its systematic characterization in the laboratory, resulting in relatively limited data on the effects of turbulence on several algal species. Here, a laboratory turbulence simulation system was set up to systematically investigate the growth of three common diatom species (Thalassiosira pseudonana, Skeletonema costatum, and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) under stationary and turbulent conditions (at 60, 120, 180 rpm), and measurements were taken for the algal biomass, algal photosynthetic activity, and nutrients consumption. By comparing the growth of three algae species under different turbulence exposure intensities, this study found that different algae exhibit varying sensitivities to turbulence, and therefore have different shear thresholds. Meanwhile, cell morphology is the key factor influencing the different shear threshold values observed in the three diatom species. Additionally, turbulence could impact algal aggregation and light availability, and dramatically improve nutrient uptake by phytoplankton. Our study will provides theoretical support for future endeavors in using turbulence to cultivate phytoplankton or combat algal blooms.

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TURBOGEN: Computer-controlled vertically oscillating grid system for small-scale turbulence studies on plankton

Cited by 6 publications

References 41 publications

Nutrient consumption and chain tuning in diatoms exposed to storm-like turbulence

Nutrient consumption and chain tuning in diatoms exposed to storm-like turbulence

Marine diatoms change their gene expression profile when exposed to microscale turbulence under nutrient replete conditions

The effects of turbulence on the growth of three different diatom species

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