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. 2012;7(2):e32116.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032116. Epub 2012 Feb 21.

High CO2 and silicate limitation synergistically increase the toxicity of Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta

Affiliations

High CO2 and silicate limitation synergistically increase the toxicity of Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta

Avery O Tatters et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Abstract

Anthropogenic CO(2) is progressively acidifying the ocean, but the responses of harmful algal bloom species that produce toxins that can bioaccumulate remain virtually unknown. The neurotoxin domoic acid is produced by the globally-distributed diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia. This toxin is responsible for amnesic shellfish poisoning, which can result in illness or death in humans and regularly causes mass mortalities of marine mammals and birds. Domoic acid production by Pseudo-nitzschia cells is known to be regulated by nutrient availability, but potential interactions with increasing seawater CO(2) concentrations are poorly understood. Here we present experiments measuring domoic acid production by acclimatized cultures of Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta that demonstrate a strong synergism between projected future CO(2) levels (765 ppm) and silicate-limited growth, which greatly increases cellular toxicity relative to growth under modern atmospheric (360 ppm) or pre-industrial (200 ppm) CO(2) conditions. Cellular Si:C ratios decrease with increasing CO(2), in a trend opposite to that seen for domoic acid production. The coastal California upwelling system where this species was isolated currently exhibits rapidly increasing levels of anthropogenic acidification, as well as widespread episodic silicate limitation of diatom growth. Our results suggest that the current ecosystem and human health impacts of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia blooms could be greatly exacerbated by future ocean acidification and 'carbon fertilization' of the coastal ocean.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Interactive effects of pH and pCO2 with nutrient limitation control Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta toxicity.
Cellular domoic acid production rates (pg cell−1 day−1) versus pH (a) and domoic acid quotas (pg cell−1) versus pH (b) and pCO2 (c) in Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta cultures grown under Si(OH)4-limited (•) and nutrient-replete (○) conditions at seawater CO2 concentrations of 200 ppm (preindustrial atmospheric levels), 360 ppm (modern levels), and 765 ppm (projected year 2100 levels). Panel insets present the nutrient-replete data with an expanded Y-axis scale for clarity. Error bars represent standard deviations of triplicates for each treatment.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Relationships between nutrient-limited growth rates, pCO2, and toxicity in Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta.
Specific growth rates (day−1) versus pCO2 (a) and cellular domoic acid quota (pg cell−1) versus specific growth rates (b) under Si(OH)4-limited (•) and nutrient-replete (○) conditions at three seawater CO2 concentrations (200, 360 and 765 ppm). Panel insets present the Si(OH)4-limited (a) or nutrient-replete (b) data with an expanded Y-axis scale for clarity. Error bars represent standard deviations of triplicates for each treatment.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Steady-state particulate organic carbon (POC) (a) and nitrogen (PON) (b) concentrations (µmol L−1), particulate organic carbon (POC) (c) and nitrogen (PON) (d) cell quotas (mol cell−1) in semi-continuous Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta cultures grown under Si(OH)4-limited (black circles, •) and nutrient-replete (open circles, ○) conditions at three seawater CO2 concentrations (200, 360 and 765 ppm).
Panel insets present the Si(OH)4-limited data with an expanded Y-axis scale for clarity. Error bars represent standard deviations of triplicates for each treatment.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Relationships between cellular Si∶C ratios, pCO2, and growth rates in Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta.
Cellular silica to particulate organic carbon (Si∶C, mol∶mol) ratios versus pCO2 (a) and cellular Si∶C versus specific growth rates (b) under Si(OH)4-limited (•) and nutrient-replete (○) conditions at three seawater CO2 concentrations (200, 360 and 765 ppm). Error bars represent standard deviations of triplicates for each treatment.

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