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Nutrient starvation effects on the allelochemical potency of Alexandrium tamarense (Dinophyceae)

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Abstract

Batch culture experiments were performed to investigate potential effects of nutrient starvation on the allelochemical potency of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense. Triplicate cultures with reduced nitrate (−N) or phosphate (−P) seed were compared to nutrient-replete (+N+P) cultures. Total depletion of the dissolved inorganic limiting nutrient, reduced cell quotas, changed mass ratios of C/N/P and reduced cell yield clearly indicate that treatment cultures at stationary phase were starved by either N or P, whereas growth cessation of +N+P cultures was probably due to carbon limitation and/or a direct effect of high pH. Pulsed addition of the limiting nutrient allowed −N and −P cultures to resume growth. Lytic activity of A. tamarense as quantified by a Rhodomonas bioassay was generally high (EC50 around 100 cells mL−1) and was only slightly modulated by growth phase and/or nutrient starvation. Lytic activity per cell increased with time in both +N+P and −P cultures but not −N cultures. P-starved stationary-phase cells were slightly more lytic than +N+P cultures, but this difference may be due to increased cell size and/or accumulation of extracellular compounds. In conclusion, only slight changes but no general and major increase in lytic activity in response to nutrient starvation was observed.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Kai Uwe Ludwichowski for inorganic nutrient measurements, to Christiane Lorenzen and Sandra Murawski for help with C/N analysis and to Steve Pueppke for correcting the English.

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  1. Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Mingming Zhu & Urban Tillmann

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  1. Mingming Zhu
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  2. Urban Tillmann
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Correspondence to Urban Tillmann.

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Communicated by U. Sommer.

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Zhu, M., Tillmann, U. Nutrient starvation effects on the allelochemical potency of Alexandrium tamarense (Dinophyceae). Mar Biol 159, 1449–1459 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1924-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-1924-7

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