Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs
Mixotrophic organisms combine autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition and are abundant in both freshwater and marine environments. Recent observations indicate that mixotrophs constitute a large fraction of the biomass, bacterivory, and primary production in oligotrophic environments. While mixotrop...
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| Format: | Article |
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University of Chicago Press
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97884 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 |
| _version_ | 1826191706194706432 |
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| author | Dutkiewicz, Stephanie Barton, Andrew D. Ward, Ben Follows, Michael J |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Global Change Science |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Global Change Science Dutkiewicz, Stephanie Barton, Andrew D. Ward, Ben Follows, Michael J |
| author_sort | Dutkiewicz, Stephanie |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Mixotrophic organisms combine autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition and are abundant in both freshwater and marine environments. Recent observations indicate that mixotrophs constitute a large fraction of the biomass, bacterivory, and primary production in oligotrophic environments. While mixotrophy allows greater flexibility in terms of resource acquisition, any advantage must be traded off against an associated increase in metabolic costs, which appear to make mixotrophs uncompetitive relative to obligate autotrophs and heterotrophs. Using an idealized model of cell physiology and community competition, we identify one mechanism by which mixotrophs can effectively outcompete specialists for nutrient elements. At low resource concentrations, when the uptake of nutrients is limited by diffusion toward the cell, the investment in cell membrane transporters can be minimized. In this situation, mixotrophs can acquire limiting elements in both organic and inorganic forms, outcompeting their specialist competitors that can utilize only one of these forms. This advantage can be enough to offset as much as a twofold increase in additional metabolic costs incurred by mixotrophs. This mechanism is particularly relevant for the maintenance of mixotrophic populations and productivity in the highly oligotro phic subtropical oceans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:00:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/97884 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:00:06Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | University of Chicago Press |
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| spelling | mit-1721.1/978842024-05-15T03:17:03Z Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs Dutkiewicz, Stephanie Barton, Andrew D. Ward, Ben Follows, Michael J Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Global Change Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Ward, Ben A. Dutkiewicz, Stephanie Barton, Andrew D. Follows, Michael J. Mixotrophic organisms combine autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition and are abundant in both freshwater and marine environments. Recent observations indicate that mixotrophs constitute a large fraction of the biomass, bacterivory, and primary production in oligotrophic environments. While mixotrophy allows greater flexibility in terms of resource acquisition, any advantage must be traded off against an associated increase in metabolic costs, which appear to make mixotrophs uncompetitive relative to obligate autotrophs and heterotrophs. Using an idealized model of cell physiology and community competition, we identify one mechanism by which mixotrophs can effectively outcompete specialists for nutrient elements. At low resource concentrations, when the uptake of nutrients is limited by diffusion toward the cell, the investment in cell membrane transporters can be minimized. In this situation, mixotrophs can acquire limiting elements in both organic and inorganic forms, outcompeting their specialist competitors that can utilize only one of these forms. This advantage can be enough to offset as much as a twofold increase in additional metabolic costs incurred by mixotrophs. This mechanism is particularly relevant for the maintenance of mixotrophic populations and productivity in the highly oligotro phic subtropical oceans. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation 2015-07-22T18:06:07Z 2015-07-22T18:06:07Z 2011-06 2010-11 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 00030147 15375323 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97884 Ward, Ben A., Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Andrew D. Barton, and Michael J. Follows. “Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs.” The American Naturalist 178, no. 1 (July 2011): 98–112. © 2011 The University of Chicago https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/660284 The American Naturalist Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf University of Chicago Press MIT web domain |
| spellingShingle | Dutkiewicz, Stephanie Barton, Andrew D. Ward, Ben Follows, Michael J Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs |
| title | Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs |
| title_full | Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs |
| title_fullStr | Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs |
| title_short | Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs |
| title_sort | biophysical aspects of resource acquisition and competition in algal mixotrophs |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/97884 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3102-0341 |
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