Dissolved organic phosphorus utilization by the marine bacterium Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3 reveals chain length-dependent polyphosphate degradation.

Dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) is a critical nutritional resource for marine microbial communities. However, the relative bioavailability of different types of DOP, such as phosphomonoesters (P-O-C) and phosphoanhydrides (P-O-P), is poorly understood. Here we assess the utilization of these P sources by a representative bacterial copiotroph, Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3. All DOP sources supported equivalent growth by R. pomeroyi, and all DOP hydrolysis rates were upregulated under phosphorus depletion (-P). A long-chain polyphosphate (45polyP) showed the lowest hydrolysis rate of all DOP substrates tested, including tripolyphosphate (3polyP). Yet the upregulation of 45polyP hydrolysis under -P was greater than any other substrate analyzed. Proteomics revealed three common P acquisition enzymes potentially involved in polyphosphate utilization, including two alkaline phosphatases, PhoD and PhoX, and one 5'-nucleotidase (5'-NT). Results from DOP substrate competition experiments show that these enzymes likely have broad substrate specificities, including chain length-dependent reactivity toward polyphosphate. These results confirm that DOP, including polyP, are bioavailable nutritional P sources for R. pomeroyi, and possibly other marine heterotrophic bacteria. Furthermore, the chain-length dependent mechanisms, rates and regulation of polyP hydrolysis suggest that these processes may influence the composition of DOP and the overall recycling of nutrients within marine dissolved organic matter.

Preferential utilization of inorganic polyphosphate over other bioavailable phosphorus sources by the model diatoms Thalassiosira spp.

Polyphosphates and phosphomonoesters are dominant components of marine dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP). Collectively, DOP represents an important nutritional phosphorus (P) source for phytoplankton growth in the ocean, but the contribution of specific DOP sources to microbial community P demand is not fully understood. In a prior study, it was reported that inorganic polyphosphate was not bioavailable to the model diatoms Thalassiosira weissflogii and Thalassiosira pseudonana. However, in this study, we show that the previous finding was a misinterpretation based on a technical artefact of media preparation and that inorganic polyphosphate is actually widely bioavailable to Thalassiosira spp. In fact, orthophosphate, inorganic tripolyphosphate (3polyP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine monophosphate supported equivalent growth rates and final growth yields within each of four strains of Thalassiosira spp. However, enzyme activity assays revealed in all cultures that cell-associated hydrolysis rates of 3polyP were typically more than ~10-fold higher than degradation of ATP and the model phosphomonoester compound 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate. These results build on prior work, which showed the preferential utilization of polyphosphates in the cell-free exudates of Thalassiosira spp., and suggest that inorganic polyphosphates may be a key bioavailable source of P for marine phytoplankton.

The impacts of warming and hypoxia on the performance of an obligate ram ventilator.

Climate change is causing the warming and deoxygenation of coastal habitats like Chesapeake Bay that serve as important nursery habitats for many marine fish species. As conditions continue to change, it is important to understand how these changes impact individual species' behavioral and metabolic performance. The sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus) is an obligate ram-ventilating apex predator whose juveniles use Chesapeake Bay as a nursery ground up to 10 years of age. The objective of this study was to measure juvenile sandbar shark metabolic and behavioral performance as a proxy for overall performance (i.e. fitness or success) when exposed to warm and hypoxic water. Juvenile sandbar sharks (79.5-113.5 cm total length) were collected from an estuary along the eastern shore of Virginia and returned to lab where they were fitted with an accelerometer, placed in a respirometer and exposed to varying temperatures and oxygen levels. Juvenile sandbar shark overall performance declined substantially at 32°C or when dissolved oxygen concentration was reduced below 3.5 mg l-1 (51% oxygen saturation between 24-32°C). As the extent of warm hypoxic water increases in Chesapeake Bay, we expect that the available sandbar shark nursery habitat will be reduced, which may negatively impact the population of sandbar sharks in the western Atlantic as well as the overall health of the ecosystem within Chesapeake Bay.