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Marine Nitrogen-Fixing Diatom-Cyanobacteria Symbioses

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Book cover Marine Pelagic Cyanobacteria: Trichodesmium and other Diazotrophs

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASIC,volume 362))

Abstract

This review summarizes growth and nitrogen-fixation data on diatom-cyanobacteria symbioses. Symbiotic associations between diatoms and filamentous cyanobacteria are frequently noted in tropical and subtropical waters, and direct evidence indicates that at least two associations are diazotrophic. Abundance data is limited, but Rhizosolenia-Richelia blooms are recorded from the central Pacific gyre at up to 104 cells L−1. In-situ growth rates of these associations are not known; however, laboratory data on the Rhizosolenia-Richelia symbiosis suggests the host-symbiont association can reproduce at approximately 0.8–1.0 div day−1. Growth kinetics in nitrogen-poor medium suggest that transfer of fixed nitrogen from host to symbiont occurs and that this process can support the host’s growth under N-limiting conditions. Additional symbioses, particularly in Hemiaulus, may be more widespread than previously realized due to the difficulty in identifying the symbiont in standard light microscopy. Few field measurements of N2-fixation are available for these associations. Rhizosolenia-Richelia appears to be locally important in the central Pacific gyre. Hemiaulus spp. are a common and abundant diatom in oligotrophic seas, and if 80–100% of the cells are symbiotic as reported, then they represent an unquantified, and potentially substantial, source of nitrogen-fixation.

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Author notes

  1. Tracy A. Villareal

    Present address: Environmental Sciences Program, University of Massachusetts, Boston Harbor Campus, Boston, MA, 02125, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, USA

    Tracy A. Villareal

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  1. Tracy A. Villareal
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    E. J. Carpenter

  2. Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland, Solomons, Maryland, USA

    D. G. Capone

  3. Biology Department, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA

    J. G. Rueter

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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Villareal, T.A. (1992). Marine Nitrogen-Fixing Diatom-Cyanobacteria Symbioses. In: Carpenter, E.J., Capone, D.G., Rueter, J.G. (eds) Marine Pelagic Cyanobacteria: Trichodesmium and other Diazotrophs. NATO ASI Series, vol 362. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7977-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7977-3_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4126-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-7977-3

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