Download VAN-MOOY_ASLO_2005

Van Mooy, B, , Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA, [email protected]
Devol, A, H, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, [email protected]
Fredricks, H, F, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA, [email protected]
Moore, L, R, University of Southern Maine, Portland, USA, [email protected]
Moutin, T, , Centre d'Océanologie de Marseille, Marseille, France, [email protected]
Rocap, G, , University of Washington, Seattle, USA, [email protected]
Webb, E, A, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA, [email protected]
GLYCOLIPID MEMBRANES RELIEVE MARINE PICOCYANOBACTERIA OF A MAJOR
REQUIREMENT FOR PHOSPHATE.
Despite the potential for phosphorus to regulate production in subtropical gyres, little is known of its
biochemical fate in plankton. We have found that 10 to 25% of the inorganic phosphorus taken up by plankton in
the subtropical gyres of the North and South Pacific Oceans is used for the synthesis of phospholipids in cell
membranes. However, the dominant phytoplankton, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, require virtually no
phosphorus for cell membrane synthesis. Instead of employing phospholipids as most bacteria do, these
picocyanobacteria synthesize primarily sulfoquinovosyl- and monogalactosyl-diacylglycerols. These glycolipid
molecules contain polar head groups composed of sulphate and sugar as opposed to phosphate, and their
synthesis by picocyanobacteria is a molecular adaptation that must contribute to their extremely low cellular
phosphorus quotas. Our data also show that heterotrophic bacteria, the other major cell type in the gyres, are the
primary producers of phospholipids. This result underscores the potential for phospholipid synthesis rates to
yield taxon-specific bacterial production rates. Furthermore, measuring the relative production of phospholipids
versus glycolipids could provide new insight on the metabolic balance of subtropical gyres.
Abstract is: Contributed
Presentation Preference: Oral
First Session Choice: SS38 Microbial Plankton Ecology and Biogeochemical Fluxes in the Subtropical Gyres
Second Session Choice: SS81 Single-cell Analyses in Aquatic Microbes: Patterns, Controls, and Linkages
Between Biogeochemical Function and Microbial Diversity
Third Session Choice: SS64 Patterns in the Balance of Planktonic Metabolism in the Ocean
Other Session Choice:
Session Chair Yes
Extended A/V: No