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  • Transcriptional response of Emiliania huxleyi under changing nutrient environments in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Title: Transcriptional response of Emiliania huxleyi under changing nutrient environments in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Summary

The widespread coccolithophoreEmiliania huxleyiis an abundant oceanic phytoplankton, impacting the global cycling of carbon through both photosynthesis and calcification. Here, we examined the transcriptional responses of populations ofE. huxleyiin the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre to shifts in the nutrient environment. Using a metatranscriptomic approach, nutrient‐amended microcosm studies were used to track the global metabolism ofE. huxleyi. The addition of nitrate led to significant changes in transcript abundance for gene pathways involved in nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism, with a decrease in the abundance of genes involved in the acquisition of nitrogen (e.g. N‐transporters) and an increase in the abundance of genes associated with phosphate acquisition (e.g. phosphatases). Simultaneously, after the addition of nitrate, genes associated with calcification and genes unique to the diploid life stages ofE. huxleyisignificantly increased. These results suggest that nitrogen is a major driver of the physiological ecology ofE. huxleyiin this system and further suggest that the addition of nitrate drives shifts in the dominant life‐stage of the population. Together, these results underscore the importance of phenotypic plasticity to the success ofE. huxleyi, a characteristic that likely underpins its ability to thrive across a variety of marine environments.

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NSF-PAR ID:
10458728
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley-Blackwell
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Environmental Microbiology
Volume:
22
Issue:
5
ISSN:
1462-2912
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 1847-1860
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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