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Effects of ammonium and nitrate on encystment and growth of Scrippsiella trochoidea

  • Article
  • Marine & Freshwater Biology
  • Published:
Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

To avoid unfavorable environmental conditions, Scrippsiella trochoidea is capable of forming a resting cyst in the process of growth. In the present study, we investigated the effects of nitrate and ammonium on the growth and encystment of S. trochoidea. We incubated S. trochoidea in modified f/2 media without nitrogen and silicate in flasks. The flasks were divided into two groups. Nitrate was added as a nitrogen source in the first group, and ammonium was added in the second group. The concentrations of the nitrogen compounds were 0, 10, 30, 60, and 90 μmol/L. The results indicate that NO3 −-N favors cell growth, and the cultures with a higher concentration of NO3 −-N were ineffective at forming cysts. In contrast, NH4 +-N promoted cell growth and cyst formation. At similar concentrations as NO3 −-N, NH4 +-N had a toxic effect on cell growth and increased the cyst formation ratio. Thus, the NH4 +-N concentration is an important factor for controlling encystment. We believe that the impact of NH4 +-N in inducing cyst formation may be a useful feedback mechanism in ecological systems.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge valuable suggestions of Professor Subbo Rao D. V. This work was supported by the Fund for Creative Research Groups by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41121064), “Strategic Priority Research Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA11020302), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41276115) and the National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB428706).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Zhifu Wang, Zhiming Yu, Xiuxian Song, Xihua Cao & Yue Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zhifu Wang & Yue Zhang

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  1. Zhifu Wang
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  2. Zhiming Yu
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  3. Xiuxian Song
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  4. Xihua Cao
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  5. Yue Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhiming Yu.

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Wang, Z., Yu, Z., Song, X. et al. Effects of ammonium and nitrate on encystment and growth of Scrippsiella trochoidea . Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 4491–4497 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0486-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0486-0

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