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Phosphatase activities of the aquatic moss Warnstorfia fluitans (Hedw.) Loeske from an acidic stream in North-East England

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Abstract

A study was made of the aquatic environment, tissue nutrient composition and surface phosphatase activities of the aquatic moss Warnstorfia fluitans in Brandon Pithouse Stream, a small acidic stream in N-E England. The water, which originates from an underground spring, had been pH 2.6 for at least 30 years, but about 3.9 during the present study. The moss was by far the most abundant phototroph during all this period. Seasonal changes in aqueous nitrogen and phosphorus fractions were measured over a 2-year period near the source. Most of the filtrable N and P were at times organic, but the very high N:P ratio (even if organic N is excluded) suggests that only organic phosphate is likely to be important for the moss. There was a high peak in organic phosphate in late spring in both study years. Surface phosphomonoesterase (PMEase) and phosphodiesterase (PDEase) activities were highly correlated in the field and in axenic culture, though there were some differences in response to environmental factors. Axenic material showed higher PMEase and PDEase activities when grown with organic P than with inorganic P. Although the data suggest that internal P content is an important factor influencing phosphatase activities, PDEase activity was especially marked when the moss was grown with the diester, DNA, as P source, indicating that at least one of its surface phosphatases can also respond directly to the environment.

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Abbreviations

bis-pNPP:

bis-para-nitrophenyl phosphate

DMG:

3-dimethylglutaric acid

FON:

filtrable organic nitrogen

FOP:

filtrable organic phosphorus

FRP:

filtrable reactive phosphorus

HEPES:

N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-piperazine-N′-2-ethanesulfonic acid

MU:

methylumbelliferone

MUP:

methylumbelliferyl phosphate

pNP:

para-nitrophenol

pNPP:

para-nitrophenyl phosphate

PMEase:

phosphomonoesterase

PDEase:

phosphodiesterase

Pi:

inorganic phosphate-P

TIN:

total inorganic nitrogen

TN:

total nitrogen

TP:

total phosphorus

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Acknowledgements

N.T.W.E. was supported by a studentship from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The authors are also most grateful to H.J. Banks Ltd for other financial support and Mr C. Harle for access to the site.

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Author notes

  1. N. T. W. Ellwood

    Present address: Dipartimenti di Scienze Geologiche, Universita Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo 1, 00146, Roma, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    N. T. W. Ellwood & B. A. Whitton

  2. Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    N. T. W. Ellwood

Authors
  1. N. T. W. Ellwood
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  2. B. A. Whitton
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Correspondence to N. T. W. Ellwood.

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Ellwood, N.T.W., Whitton, B.A. Phosphatase activities of the aquatic moss Warnstorfia fluitans (Hedw.) Loeske from an acidic stream in North-East England. Hydrobiologia 575, 95–107 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0283-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0283-0

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