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Size-dependent growth of Microcystis colonies in a shallow, hypertrophic lake: use of the RNA-to-total organic carbon ratio

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Abstract

Microcystis was cultured under standard conditions in BG-11 and M-11 media. Using results of an analysis of RNA and total organic carbon (TOC) content, a significant logarithmic relationship between Microcystis growth rate and the RNA/TOC ratio was described to measure the growth rate. Colonial Microcystis samples collected in a shallow, hypertrophic lake (Lake Taihu, China) during May–November 2012 were divided into six size classes (<75, 75–100, 100–150, 150–300, 300–500, and >500 μm), and the RNA/TOC ratio of each class was analyzed to evaluate differences in growth. The growth rate of colonies in the 150–300-μm size class was highest from May to August, but the growth rate increased along with the increase in colony size from September to November. Our results also indicated that water temperature did not change the relationship between growth rate and colony size, but the growth rate of larger colonies was higher than the growth rate of smaller colonies at conditions of low total nitrogen, low total dissolved phosphorus concentration, and high light intensity. Taken together, these results suggest that large colonial Microcystis possess an advantage that is a consequence of this faster growth at lower nutrient concentrations and high light intensities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous referees for their careful review of the manuscript. Their constructive comments substantially improved the manuscript. This study was sponsored by the National Program on Key Basic Research Project of China (2012CB719804), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK2011025), and the Hydraulic Science and Technology Project of Jiangsu Province (2012012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environment, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Li

  2. College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Zhu, Xiaoxuan Dai, Man Xiao, Gloria Appiah-Sefah & Philip Nti Nkrumah

  3. National Engineering Research Center of Water Resources Efficient Utilization and Engineering Safety, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Zhu

  4. Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, Yangling, People’s Republic of China

    Ming Li

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  1. Ming Li
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  2. Wei Zhu
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  3. Xiaoxuan Dai
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  4. Man Xiao
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  5. Gloria Appiah-Sefah
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Correspondence to Ming Li.

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Handling Editor: Bas W. Ibelings.

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Li, M., Zhu, W., Dai, X. et al. Size-dependent growth of Microcystis colonies in a shallow, hypertrophic lake: use of the RNA-to-total organic carbon ratio. Aquat Ecol 48, 207–217 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-014-9476-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-014-9476-1

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