Chemical composition and alkaline phosphatase activity of nutrient-saturated and P-deficient cells of four marine dinoflagellates

• Published in: Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology Vol. 77; no. 3; pp. 241 - 254
• Main Authors: Sakshaug, Egil, Granéli, Edna, Elbrächter, Malte, Kayser, Hermann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 1984; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Akvatisk ekologi; Amphidinium carterae; Aquatic Ecology; Biologi; Biological and medical sciences; Biology; Ceratium tripos; Chemical constitution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Marine; NATURAL SCIENCES; NATURVETENSKAP; Plant physiology and development; Prorocentrum minimum; Scrippsiella trochoidea; Terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecology; Terrestrisk, limnisk och marin ekologi; Marine environment; Enzyme; Algae; Phosphorus; Pyrrophycophyta; Chemical composition; Phosphatase; Inorganic element; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 0022-0981; 1879-1697; 1879-1697
• DOI: 10.1016/0022-0981(84)90122-9

Four marine dinoflagellates, Amphidinium carterae Hulburt, Ceratium tripos (O.F. Müll.) Nitzsch, Prorocentrum minimum (Pav.) J. Schiller, and Scrippsiella trochoidea (Stein) Loeblich III were grown as dilution cultures at 18°C, S = 29%. and 30 μE·m −2·s −1 at L: D = 14:10 h. In nutrient-saturated cultures, the growth rates (doubl·day −1) ranged from 0.38 for Scrippsiella to 0.80 for Prorocentrum, and carbon content (pg·cell −1) from 83 for Amphidinium to 6900 for Ceratium. The atomic N C ratio was 0.13–0.15, but for Ceratium it was 0.088, because of its thick, cellulose theca. The atomic N P ratio ranged from 12–13 for Ceratium and Scrippsiella to 15–17 for Prorocentrum and Amphidinium. Under P-deficient conditions (growth rate 39–70% of the maximum), cellular P decreased considerably, but so did N, so that the N P ratio was only slightly affected. There was a concomitant increase in carbon content per cell of 1.2- to 1.7-fold. Alkaline phosphatase activity was virtually nil in nutrient-saturated cells, but was readily demonstrable in all species when P-deficient.