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Cell-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase Expression by Phytoplankton from Winyah Bay, South Carolina, USA

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Abstract

Alkaline phosphatase expression by phytoplankton from two sites in Winyah Bay, SC, USA was investigated using nutrient-addition bioassays and cell-specific enzyme-labeled fluorescence (ELF) measurements. Our aim was to determine whether expression was group- or species-specific within the phytoplankton community. Diatoms dominated the riverine site in May, the coastal site in July, and both sites in August. Phytoplankton growth was limited by nitrogen (N) availability at the coastal site in May and the riverine site in August, but phosphate limitation was not observed. Alkaline phosphatase expression ranged from ∼30% of cells enumerated to less than 1% and was significantly reduced by inorganic phosphorus (P; 10 μM P) additions. Expression was restricted to species with low abundance, and there were no shifts in community composition consistent with alkaline phosphatase expression. Lack of phosphate limitation at higher-than-Redfield N/P ratios (up to 40:1), however, points to a potentially wider role of dissolved organic phosphorus in nutrition of Winyah Bay phytoplankton than indicated by the ELF assay.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the hard work of Steven Schmidt, Kent Ray, Jean-Marie Buschur, Elyse Walker, Max Bangs, and Dale Soblo who collected and filtered many liters of water. Thanks to Renée Styles and Lois Lane for technical assistance. Special thanks to Sonya Dyhrman and Karin Rengefors for help with the ELF assay and for answering multiple questions from TLR. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. This work was funded in part by the South Carolina Sea Grant Program (grant numbers P/M-2 J-V410 and R/ER 29), and the Slocum-Lunz Foundation (to MLR).

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  1. Marine Science Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Melissa L. Ranhofer, Evelyn Lawrenz, James L. Pinckney & Tammi L. Richardson

  2. Marine Science Program, Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    James L. Pinckney & Tammi L. Richardson

  3. Marine Science Program, Department of Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Claudia R. Benitez-Nelson

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  1. Melissa L. Ranhofer
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Ranhofer, M.L., Lawrenz, E., Pinckney, J.L. et al. Cell-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase Expression by Phytoplankton from Winyah Bay, South Carolina, USA. Estuaries and Coasts 32, 943–957 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9180-x

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