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PHOSPHORUS LIMITATION INHIBITS CYANOBACTERIAL GROWTH BUT NOT EXOPOLYSACCHARIDES PRODUCTION


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Created: May 01, 2025 at 9:19 p.m.
Last updated: May 01, 2025 at 9:19 p.m.
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Abstract

Cyanobacteria are adapted to environments with low phosphorus (P) availability such as desert soils. They are key to the formation of biological soil crusts (biocrusts hereafter), pivotal mini ecosystems in deserts. Studies have demonstrated that P limitation in lakes increases exopolysaccharides (EPS) production in aquatic cyanobacteria, impacting their fitness. However, the role of phosphorus limitation on EPS production by biocrust cyanobacteria remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluated the impact of P limitation on the growth, photosynthetic activity, and EPS production of six biocrust cyanobacterial strains obtainedfrom biocrusts in the Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts, and belonging to three different orders (Nostocales, Oculatellales and Gomontiellales). All strains had lower biomass under P limitation than under control conditions. Quantum photosynthetic yield measurements did not differ between control and P limitation, suggesting that photosynthetic activity was not severely impacted. However, the EPS-to-biomass concentration (total EPS normalized to chlorophyll a) remained consistent between treatments throughout the experiment. These results indicate that low phosphorus availability limits the growth of biocrust cyanobacteria. However, they maintain EPS production at a proportional level to biomass. This suggests that alternative phosphorus acquisition strategies, such as polyphosphate storage, may compensate for reduced external P availability. The stable EPS-to-biomass ratio, even under P limitation, likely acts as a survival mechanism, facilitating biofilm formation and cell aggregation.

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Funding Agencies

This resource was created using funding from the following sources:
Agency Name Award Title Award Number
National Science Foundation Network Cluster: Patterns and controls of ecohydrology, CO2 fluxes, and nutrient availability in pedogenic carbonate-dominated dryland critical zones 2012475
Joshua Tree National Park Association Joshua Tree National Park Graduate Student Research Grant JOTR-00369
Ecological Society of America Forrest Shreve Student Research Fund 00000
Phycological Society of America Grants-In-Aid of Research 00000

Contributors

People or Organizations that contributed technically, materially, financially, or provided general support for the creation of the resource's content but are not considered authors.

Name Organization Address Phone Author Identifiers
Nicole Pietrasiak School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy., Las Vegas, NV 89154

How to Cite

Benjy (2025). PHOSPHORUS LIMITATION INHIBITS CYANOBACTERIAL GROWTH BUT NOT EXOPOLYSACCHARIDES PRODUCTION , HydroShare, http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/63889b4388054935beb786e97fc5fade

This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CC-BY

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