Physiological Responses of Mesodinium major to Irradiance, Prey Concentration and Prey Starvation
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Ciliates within the Mesodinium rubrum/Mesodinium major species complex
harbor chloroplasts and other cell organelles from specific cryptophyte species.
Mesodinium major was recently described, and new studies indicate that
blooms of M. major are just as common as blooms of M. rubrum. Despite
this, the physiology of M. major has never been studied and compared to M.
rubrum. In this study, growth, food uptake, chlorophyll a and photosynthesis
were measured at six different irradiances, when fed the cryptophyte, Teleaulax amphioxeia. The results show that the light compensation point for growth
of M. major was significantly higher than for M. rubrum. Inorganic carbon
uptake via photosynthesis contributed by far most of total carbon uptake at
most irradiances, similar to M. rubrum. Mesodinium major cells contain ~four
times as many chloroplast as M. rubrum leading to up to ~four times higher
rates of photosynthesis. The responses of M. major to prey starvation and
refeeding were also studied. Mesodinium major was well adapted to prey starvation, and 51 d without prey did not lead to mortality. Mesodinium major
quickly recovered from prey starvation when refed, due to high ingestion rates
of > 150 prey/predator/d.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e12854 |
Journal | Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology |
Volume | 68 |
Issue number | 4 |
Number of pages | 13 |
ISSN | 1066-5234 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2021 |
ID: 260038062