Interactive effects of increased temperature, elevated pCO2 and different nitrogen sources on the coccolithophore Gephyrocapsaoceanica

PLoS One. 2020 Jul 10;15(7):e0235755. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235755. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

As a widespread phytoplankton species, the coccolithophore Gephyrocapsaoceanica has a significant impact on the global biogeochemical cycle through calcium carbonate precipitation and photosynthesis. As global change continues, marine phytoplankton will experience alterations in multiple parameters, including temperature, pH, CO2, and nitrogen sources, and the interactive effects of these variables should be examined to understand how marine organisms will respond to global change. Here, we show that the specific growth rate of G. oceanica is reduced by elevated CO2 (1000 μatm) in [Formula: see text]-grown cells, while it is increased by high CO2 in [Formula: see text]-grown ones. This difference was related to intracellular metabolic regulation, with decreased cellular particulate organic carbon and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) content in the [Formula: see text] and high CO2 condition compared to the low CO2 condition. In contrast, no significant difference was found between the high and low CO2 levels in [Formula: see text] cultures (p > 0.05). The temperature increase from 20°C to 25°C increased the PON production rate, and the enhancement was more prominent in [Formula: see text] cultures. Enhanced or inhibited particulate inorganic carbon production rate in cells supplied with [Formula: see text] relative to [Formula: see text] was observed, depending on the temperature and CO2 condition. These results suggest that a greater disruption of the organic carbon pump can be expected in response to the combined effects of increased [Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text] ratio, temperature, and CO2 level in the oceans of the future. Additional experiments conducted under nutrient limitation conditions are needed before we can extrapolate our findings to the global oceans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Retracted Publication

MeSH terms

  • Carbon Dioxide / analysis
  • Carbon Dioxide / pharmacology*
  • Haptophyta / drug effects
  • Haptophyta / growth & development*
  • Nitrogen / analysis
  • Nitrogen / pharmacology*
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Nitrogen

Grants and funding

This study was supported by The Project for Qingdao Model City in Innovation & Development on Marine Economy (2016029). The funders had played a role in writing - review and editing of the manuscript. The funders had no other role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.