TY  - JOUR
A1  - Spijkerman, Elly
A1  - Stojkovic, Slobodanka
A1  - Holland, Daryl
A1  - Lachmann, Sabrina C.
A1  - Beardall, John
T1  - Nutrient induced fluorescence transients (NIFTs) provide a rapid measure of P and C (co-)limitation in a green alga
JF  - European journal of phycology
N2  - Nutrient Induced Fluorescence Transients (NIFTs) have been shown to be a possible way of testing for the limiting nutrient in algal populations. In this study we tested the hypothesis that NIFTs can be used to detect a (co-)limitation for inorganic phosphorus (Pi) and CO2 in the green alga Chlamydomonas acidophila and that the magnitude of the NIFTs can be related to cellular P:C ratios. We show a co-limitation response for Pi and CO2 via traditional nutrient enrichment experiments in natural phytoplankton populations dominated by C. acidophila. We measured NIFT responses after a Pi- or a CO2-spike in C. acidophila batch cultures at various stages of Pi and inorganic C limitation. Significant NIFTs were observed in response to spikes in both nutrients. The NIFT response to a Pi-spike showed a strong negative correlation with cellular P:C ratio that was pronounced below 3 mmol P: mol C (equivalent to 0.2 pg P cell(-1)). Both cellular P and C content influenced the extent of the Pi-NIFT response. The NIFT response to a CO2-spike correlated to low CO2 culturing conditions and also had a negative correlation with cellular P content. A secondary response within the Pi-NIFT response was related to the CO2 concentration and potentially reflected co-limitation. In conclusion, NIFTs provided a quick and reliable method to detect the growth-limiting nutrient in an extremophile green alga, under Pi-, CO2- and Pi/CO2 (co-)limited growth conditions.
KW  - acidophile
KW  - Chlamydomonas
KW  - CO2 concentrating mechanism
KW  - CO2 limitation
KW  - extremophile
KW  - nutrient limitation
KW  - photosynthesis response
KW  - phytoplankton
KW  - stoichiometry
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1080/09670262.2015.1095355
SN  - 0967-0262
SN  - 1469-4433
VL  - 51
SP  - 47
EP  - 58
PB  - Hindawi
CY  - Abingdon
ER  -