TY - JOUR A1 - Wacker, Alexander A1 - Marzetz, Vanessa A1 - Spijkerman, Elly T1 - Interspecific competition in phytoplankton drives the availability of essential mineral and biochemical nutrients JF - Ecology : a publication of the Ecological Society of America N2 - The underlying mechanisms and consequences of competition and diversity are central themes in ecology. A higher diversity of primary producers often results in higher resource use efficiency in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This may result in more food for consumers on one hand, while, on the other hand, it can also result in a decreased food quality for consumers; higher biomass combined with the same availability of the limiting compound directly reduces the dietary proportion of the limiting compound. Here we tested whether and how interspecific competition in phytoplankton communities leads to changes in resource use efficiency and cellular concentrations of nutrients and fatty acids. The measured particulate carbon : phosphorus ratios (C:P) and fatty acid concentrations in the communities were compared to the theoretically expected ratios and concentrations of measurements on simultaneously running monocultures. With interspecific competition, phytoplankton communities had higher concentrations of the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid and also much higher concentrations of the ecologically and physiologically relevant long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid than expected concentrations based on monocultures. Such higher availability of essential fatty acids may contribute to the positive relationship between phytoplankton diversity and zooplankton growth, and may compensate limitations by mineral nutrients in higher trophic levels. KW - biodiversity KW - C:P ratio KW - competition KW - eicosapentaenoic acid KW - elemental composition KW - EPA KW - food quality KW - minerals KW - phosphorus KW - polyunsaturated fatty acids KW - PUFA KW - resource use efficiency Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1915.1 SN - 0012-9658 SN - 1939-9170 VL - 96 IS - 9 SP - 2467 EP - 2477 PB - Wiley CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Piepho, Maike A1 - Arts, Michael T. A1 - Wacker, Alexander T1 - Species-specific variation in fatty acid concentrations of four phytoplankton species does phosphorus supply influence the effect of light intensity of temperature? JF - Journal of phycology N2 - We tested, in the laboratory, the influence of light intensity, temperature, and phosphorus (P) supply on fatty acid (FA) concentrations of four freshwater algae: the green algae Scenedesmus quadricauda (Turpin) Breb. and Chlamydomonas globosa J. Snow, the cryptophyte Cryptomonas ovata Ehrenb., and the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana Kutz. We investigated the main and interactive effects of two variables on algal FA concentrations (i.e., light intensity and P supply or temperature and P supply). Interactive effects of light intensity and P supply were most pronounced in C. meneghiniana, but were also found in S. quadricauda and C. ovata. Changes in several saturated and unsaturated FA concentrations with light were more distinct in the low-P treatments than in the high-P treatments. Interactive effects of temperature and P supply on various FA concentrations were observed in all four species, but there was no consistent pattern. In lake ecosystems, P limitation often coincides with high light intensities and temperatures in summer. Therefore, it is important to examine how combinations of these environmental conditions affect FA concentrations of primary producers that are important sources of FAs for higher trophic levels. KW - Chlamydomonas KW - Cryptomonas KW - Cyclotella KW - fatty acids KW - light KW - lipids KW - phosphate KW - PUFA KW - Scenedesmus KW - temperature Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2011.01103.x SN - 0022-3646 VL - 48 IS - 1 SP - 64 EP - 73 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henkel, Janin A1 - Alfine, Eugenia A1 - Saín, Juliana A1 - Jöhrens, Korinna A1 - Weber, Daniela A1 - Castro, José Pedro A1 - König, Jeannette A1 - Stuhlmann, Christin A1 - Vahrenbrink, Madita A1 - Jonas, Wenke A1 - Kleinridders, André A1 - Püschel, Gerhard Paul T1 - Soybean Oil-Derived Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids Enhance Liver Damage in NAFLD Induced by Dietary Cholesterol JF - Nutrients N2 - While the impact of dietary cholesterol on the progression of atherosclerosis has probably been overestimated, increasing evidence suggests that dietary cholesterol might favor the transition from blunt steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), especially in combination with high fat diets. It is poorly understood how cholesterol alone or in combination with other dietary lipid components contributes to the development of lipotoxicity. The current study demonstrated that liver damage caused by dietary cholesterol in mice was strongly enhanced by a high fat diet containing soybean oil-derived ω6-poly-unsaturated fatty acids (ω6-PUFA), but not by a lard-based high fat diet containing mainly saturated fatty acids. In contrast to the lard-based diet the soybean oil-based diet augmented cholesterol accumulation in hepatocytes, presumably by impairing cholesterol-eliminating pathways. The soybean oil-based diet enhanced cholesterol-induced mitochondrial damage and amplified the ensuing oxidative stress, probably by peroxidation of poly-unsaturated fatty acids. This resulted in hepatocyte death, recruitment of inflammatory cells, and fibrosis, and caused a transition from steatosis to NASH, doubling the NASH activity score. Thus, the recommendation to reduce cholesterol intake, in particular in diets rich in ω6-PUFA, although not necessary to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, might be sensible for patients suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. KW - non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) KW - NASH KW - cholesterol KW - PUFA KW - inflammation KW - oxidative stress Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10091326 SN - 2072-6643 VL - 10 IS - 9 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) CY - Basel ER -