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Biochemical nutrient requirements of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus co-limitation by sterols and amino acids

  • It has been proposed that growth and reproduction of animals is frequently limited by multiple nutrients simultaneously. To improve our understanding of the consequences of multiple nutrient limitations (i.e. co-limitation) for the performance of animals, we conducted standardized population growth experiments using an important aquatic consumer, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. We compared nutrient profiles (sterols, fatty acids and amino acids) of rotifers and their diets to reveal consumerdiet imbalances and thus potentially limiting nutrients. In concomitant growth experiments, we directly supplemented potentially limiting substances (sterols, fatty acids, amino acids) to a nutrient-deficient diet, the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus, and recorded population growth rates. The results from the supplementation experiments corroborated the nutrient limitations predicted by assessing consumerdiet imbalances, but provided more detailed information on co-limiting nutrients. While the fatty acid deficiency of theIt has been proposed that growth and reproduction of animals is frequently limited by multiple nutrients simultaneously. To improve our understanding of the consequences of multiple nutrient limitations (i.e. co-limitation) for the performance of animals, we conducted standardized population growth experiments using an important aquatic consumer, the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus. We compared nutrient profiles (sterols, fatty acids and amino acids) of rotifers and their diets to reveal consumerdiet imbalances and thus potentially limiting nutrients. In concomitant growth experiments, we directly supplemented potentially limiting substances (sterols, fatty acids, amino acids) to a nutrient-deficient diet, the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus, and recorded population growth rates. The results from the supplementation experiments corroborated the nutrient limitations predicted by assessing consumerdiet imbalances, but provided more detailed information on co-limiting nutrients. While the fatty acid deficiency of the cyanobacterium appeared to be of minor importance, the addition of both cholesterol and certain amino acids (leucine and isoleucine) improved population growth rates of rotifers, indicating a simultaneous limitation by sterols and amino acids. Our results add to growing evidence that consumers frequently face multiple nutrient limitations and suggest that the concept of co-limitation has to be considered in studies assessing nutrient-limited growth responses of consumers.show moreshow less

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Author details:Alexander WackerORCiDGND, Dominik Martin-CreuzburgORCiDGND
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.02047.x
ISSN:0269-8463
Title of parent work (English):Functional ecology : an official journal of the British Ecological Society
Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell
Place of publishing:Hoboken
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2012
Publication year:2012
Release date:2017/03/26
Tag:consumer; consumer-diet imbalance; dietary mismatch; fatty acid; global change; lipid; nutrition; phytoplankton; tetrahymanol; zooplankton
Volume:26
Issue:5
Number of pages:9
First page:1135
Last Page:1143
Funding institution:German Research Foundation (DFG) [WA2445]
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie
Peer review:Referiert
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