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The evolutionary inheritance of elemental stoichiometry in marine phytoplankton

Nature volume 425, pages 291–294 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Phytoplankton is a nineteenth century ecological construct for a biologically diverse group of pelagic photoautotrophs that share common metabolic functions but not evolutionary histories1. In contrast to terrestrial plants, a major schism occurred in the evolution of the eukaryotic phytoplankton that gave rise to two major plastid superfamilies2,3,4. The green superfamily appropriated chlorophyll b, whereas the red superfamily uses chlorophyll c as an accessory photosynthetic pigment5. Fossil evidence suggests that the green superfamily dominated Palaeozoic oceans. However, after the end-Permian extinction, members of the red superfamily rose to ecological prominence. The processes responsible for this shift are obscure. Here we present an analysis of major nutrients and trace elements in 15 species of marine phytoplankton from the two superfamilies. Our results indicate that there are systematic phylogenetic differences in the two plastid types where macronutrient (carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus) stoichiometries primarily reflect ancestral pre-symbiotic host cell phenotypes, but trace element composition reflects differences in the acquired plastids. The compositional differences between the two plastid superfamilies suggest that changes in ocean redox state strongly influenced the evolution and selection of eukaryotic phytoplankton since the Proterozoic era.

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Figure 1: C:N:P composition varies between phyla and superfamilies.
Figure 2: Elemental profiles differentiate the green and red superfamilies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Wyman, C. Fuller, P. Field and R. Sherrell for assisting us with the elemental analysis, and L. Hedin, R. Sherrell and J. Raven for comments. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation ‘Evolution and Radiation of Eukaryotic Phytoplankton Taxa’ (EREUPT) Biocomplexity Program (Rutgers University) and the Centre for Environmental Bioinorganic Chemistry at the Princeton Environmental Institute (Princeton University).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, 08901, New Jersey, USA

    Antonietta Quigg, Zoe V. Finkel, Andrew J. Irwin, Yair Rosenthal, Oscar Schofield & Paul G. Falkowski

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, Rutgers University, 08901, New Jersey, USA

    Yair Rosenthal & Paul G. Falkowski

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, 08901, New Jersey, USA

    John R. Reinfelder

  4. Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory, Rutgers University, 08901, New Jersey, USA

    Oscar Schofield

  5. Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, 08544, New Jersey, USA

    Tung-Yuan Ho & Francois M. M. Morel

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  1. Antonietta Quigg
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  9. Paul G. Falkowski
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Correspondence to Antonietta Quigg or Paul G. Falkowski.

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Quigg, A., Finkel, Z., Irwin, A. et al. The evolutionary inheritance of elemental stoichiometry in marine phytoplankton. Nature 425, 291–294 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01953

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