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Alkaline phosphatase activities and regulation in three harmful Prorocentrum species from the coastal waters of the East China Sea

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Abstract

Harmful blooms of Prorocentrum donghaiense occur annually in the phosphorus-scarce coastal waters of the East China Sea (ECS). The enzymatic activities of alkaline phosphatase (AP) and its regulation by external phosphorus were studied during a P. donghaiense bloom in this area. The AP characteristics of P. donghaiense was further compared with Prorocentrum minimum and Prorocentrum micans in monocultures with both bulk and single-cell enzyme-labeled fluorescence AP assays. Concentrations of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) varied between 0.04 and 0.73 μmol l−1, with more than half recording stations registering concentrations below 0.10 μmol l−1. Concentrations of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) were comparable or even higher than those of DIP. P. donghaiense suffered phosphorus stress and expressed abundant AP, especially when DIP was lower than 0.10 μmol l−1. The AP activities showed a negative correlation with DIP but a positive correlation with DOP. The AP activities were also regulated by internal phosphorus pool. The sharp increase in AP activities was observed until cellular phosphorus was exhausted. Most AP of P. donghaiense was located on the cell surface and some were released into the water with time. Compared with P. minimum and P. micans, P. donghaiense showed a higher AP affinity for organic phosphorus substrates, a more efficient and energy-saving AP expression quantity as a response to phosphorus deficiency. The unique AP characteristic of P. donghaiense suggests that it benefits from the efficient utilization of DOP, and outcompete other species in the phosphorus-scarce ECS.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the captain and crew of RV “Science 3,” who made concerted efforts during sampling. The authors thank Prof. Douding Lu and Dr. Xinfeng Dai for providing data of P. donghaiense density. The authors also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFC1404300) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 41776121 and 41176087).

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  1. Linjian Ou and Xianling Qin contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center of Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, and Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, People’s Republic of China

    Linjian Ou, Xianling Qin, Qingliang Feng, Shuwen Zhang, Songhui Lu & Yuzao Qi

  2. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, and Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning, 530007, People’s Republic of China

    Xianling Qin

  3. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyong Shi

  4. National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service, Beijing, 100194, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoyong Shi

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  1. Linjian Ou
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Correspondence to Linjian Ou or Songhui Lu.

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Ou, L., Qin, X., Shi, X. et al. Alkaline phosphatase activities and regulation in three harmful Prorocentrum species from the coastal waters of the East China Sea. Microb Ecol 79, 459–471 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-019-01399-3

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