The diversity of small eukaryotic phytoplankton (≤3 μm) in marine ecosystems

Vaulot, Daniel; Eikrem, Wenche; Viprey, Manon; Moreau, Hervé

doi:10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00121.x

Cited by 368 publications

(316 citation statements)

References 193 publications

(302 reference statements)

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“…Group-specific marine CO 2 fixation L Jardillier et al picophytoplankton in coastal environments Vaulot et al, 2008), much less is known of the composition of these communities in open ocean waters. The low proportion of prasinophytes observed in this study (Table 1) is consistent then with Micromonas spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, studies based on size-fractionated pigment analysis also suggest a wide distribution of these small photosynthetic eukaryotes (Latasa and Bidigare, 1998;Wright et al, 2009). Recent progress using molecular approaches has begun to reveal their diversity (Moon-van der Staay et al, 2000;Díez et al, 2001;Vaulot et al, 2008;Worden and Not, 2008) showing a dominance of prymnesiophytes, pelagophytes and prasinophytes in marine environments (for example, see Moon-van der Staay et al, 2001;Romari and Vaulot, 2004;Not et al, 2004;Fuller et al, 2006a, b;Viprey et al, 2008;Liu et al, 2009) and lately of chrysophytes (Fuller et al, 2006b;McDonald et al, 2007;Lepère et al, 2009). However, we still have a poor understanding of the phylogenetic affiliation of the smallest cells (for example, see Liu et al, 2010), and particularly in directly linking taxonomic identity with 14 C primary production measurements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

et al. 2010

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Global estimates indicate the oceans are responsible for approximately half of the carbon dioxide fixed on Earth. Organisms p5 lm in size dominate open ocean phytoplankton communities in terms of abundance and CO 2 fixation, with the cyanobacterial genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus numerically the most abundant and more extensively studied compared with small eukaryotes. However, the contribution of specific taxonomic groups to marine CO 2 fixation is still poorly known. In this study, we show that among the phytoplankton, small eukaryotes contribute significantly to CO 2 fixation (44%) because of their larger cell volume and thereby higher cell-specific CO 2 fixation rates. Within the eukaryotes, two groups, herein called Euk-A and Euk-B, were distinguished based on their flow cytometric signature. Euk-A, the most abundant group, contained cells 1.8±0.1 lm in size while Euk-B was the least abundant but cells were larger (2.8±0.2 lm). The Euk-B group comprising prymnesiophytes (73±13%) belonging largely to lineages with no close cultured counterparts accounted for up to 38% of the total primary production in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean, suggesting a key role of this group in oceanic CO 2 fixation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

et al. 2010

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“…Cells of this species are slightly larger than the picoplankton size, and have an approximate length of 3.0 µm, width of 2.3 µm and maximum thickness of 1.8 µm with a single 8-10 µm long flagellum (Jones et al 1994). Members of this genus are inhabitants of marine and brackish environments, and are able to grow up to 3.8% salinity (Jones et al 1994, Vaulot et al 2008). …”

Section: Community Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unique picoeukaryotic algal community under multiple environmental stress conditions in a shallow, alkaline pan

et al. 2013

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Winter phytoplankton communities in the shallow alkaline pans of Hungary are frequently dominated by picoeukaryotes, sometimes in particularly high abundance. In winter 2012 the ice-covered alkaline Zab-szék pan was found to be extraordinarily rich in picoeukaryotic green algae (42-82 × 10 6 cells ml -1 ) despite the simultaneous presence of multiple stressors (low temperature and light intensity with high pH and salinity). The maximum photosynthetic rate of the picoeukaryote community was 1.4 µg C µg chlorophyll a -1 h -1 at 125 µmol m -2 s -1 .The assimilation rates compared with the available light intensity measured on the field show that the community was considerably light-limited. Estimated areal primary production was 2 180 mg C m -2 d -1 . On the basis of the 18S rRNA gene analysis (cloning and DGGE), the community was phylogenetically heterogeneous with several previously undescribed chlorophyte lineages, which indicates the ability of picoeukaryotic communities to maintain high genetic diversity under extreme conditions.

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“…The phytoplankton responsible for marine primary production include the cyanobacteria, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, and a multitude of eukaryotic phytoplankton, such as diatoms, dinoflagellates, prasinophytes, and prymnesiophytes (2)(3)(4). Most oceanic phytoplankton are "picoplanktonic" (<2-3 μm diameter) and have high surface area to volume ratios, an advantage in open-ocean low-nutrient conditions (5)(6)(7)(8). Despite the importance of eukaryotic phytoplankton to carbon cycling only six genomes have been sequenced and analyzed comparatively, all being from diatoms and prasinophytes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Targeted metagenomics and ecology of globally important uncultured eukaryotic phytoplankton

Cuvelier

Allen

Monier

et al. 2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

270

269

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Among eukaryotes, four major phytoplankton lineages are responsible for marine photosynthesis; prymnesiophytes, alveolates, stramenopiles, and prasinophytes. Contributions by individual taxa, however, are not well known, and genomes have been analyzed from only the latter two lineages. Tiny "picoplanktonic" members of the prymnesiophyte lineage have long been inferred to be ecologically important but remain poorly characterized. Here, we examine pico-prymnesiophyte evolutionary history and ecology using cultivation-independent methods. 18S rRNA gene analysis showed picoprymnesiophytes belonged to broadly distributed uncultivated taxa. Therefore, we used targeted metagenomics to analyze uncultured pico-prymnesiophytes sorted by flow cytometry from subtropical North Atlantic waters. The data reveal a composite nuclear-encoded gene repertoire with strong green-lineage affiliations, which contrasts with the evolutionary history indicated by the plastid genome. Measured pico-prymnesiophyte growth rates were rapid in this region, resulting in primary production contributions similar to the cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus. On average, picoprymnesiophytes formed 25% of global picophytoplankton biomass, with differing contributions in five biogeographical provinces spanning tropical to subpolar systems. Elements likely contributing to success include high gene density and genes potentially involved in defense and nutrient uptake. Our findings have implications reaching beyond pico-prymnesiophytes, to the prasinophytes and stramenopiles. For example, prevalence of putative Ni-containing superoxide dismutases (SODs), instead of Fe-containing SODs, seems to be a common adaptation among eukaryotic phytoplankton for reducing Fe quotas in low-Fe modern oceans. Moreover, highly mosaic gene repertoires, although compositionally distinct for each major eukaryotic lineage, now seem to be an underlying facet of successful marine phytoplankton.comparative genomics | primary production | prymnesiophytes | marine photosynthesis | haptophytes G lobal primary production is partitioned equally among terrestrial and marine ecosystems, each accounting for ≈50 gigatons of carbon per year (1). The phytoplankton responsible for marine primary production include the cyanobacteria, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, and a multitude of eukaryotic phytoplankton, such as diatoms, dinoflagellates, prasinophytes, and prymnesiophytes (2-4). Most oceanic phytoplankton are "picoplanktonic" (<2-3 μm diameter) and have high surface area to volume ratios, an advantage in open-ocean low-nutrient conditions (5-8). Despite the importance of eukaryotic phytoplankton to carbon cycling only six genomes have been sequenced and analyzed comparatively, all being from diatoms and prasinophytes. These revealed greater differentiation than anticipated on the basis of 18S rRNA gene analyses (9-11). The observed genomic divergence is associated with major differences in physiology and niche adaptation (10).Pigment-based estimates indicate that prymnesiophytes, also know...

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The diversity of small eukaryotic phytoplankton (≤3 μm) in marine ecosystems

Cited by 368 publications

References 193 publications

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

Significant CO2 fixation by small prymnesiophytes in the subtropical and tropical northeast Atlantic Ocean

Unique picoeukaryotic algal community under multiple environmental stress conditions in a shallow, alkaline pan

Targeted metagenomics and ecology of globally important uncultured eukaryotic phytoplankton

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