Effect of Rising Temperature and Carbon Dioxide on the Growth, Photophysiology, and Elemental Ratios of Marine Synechococcus: A Multistressor Approach

Samarpita Basu and Katherine R. M. Mackey
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Samarpita Basu: Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Katherine R. M. Mackey: Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: Marine picocyanobacteria belonging to the genus Synechococcus are one of the most abundant photosynthetic organisms on Earth. They are often exposed to large fluctuations in temperature and CO 2 concentrations in the ocean, which are expected to further change in the coming decades due to ocean acidification and warming resulting from rising atmospheric CO 2 levels. To decipher the effect of changing temperature and CO 2 levels on Synechococcus , six Synechococcus strains previously isolated from various coastal and open ocean sites were exposed to a matrix of three different temperatures (22 °C, 24 °C and 26 °C) and CO 2 levels (400 ppm, 600 ppm and 800 ppm). Thereafter, the specific growth rates, photophysiological parameters ( σ PSII and F v /F m ), C/N (mol/mol) ratios and the nitrogen stable isotopic composition (δ 15 N (‰)) of the strains were measured. Temperature was found to be a stronger driver of the changes in specific growth rates and photophysiology in the Synechococcus strains. Carbon-concentrating mechanisms (CCM) operational in these strains that shield the photosynthetic machinery from directly sensing ambient changes in CO 2 possibly played a major role in causing minimal changes in the specific growth rates under the varying CO 2 levels.

Keywords: picocyanobacteria; ocean acidification; Synechococcus; specific growth rate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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