Extensive variations in diurnal growth patterns and metabolism among ulva spp. Strains

45Citations
Citations of this article
113Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Green macroalgae of the genus Ulva play a key role in coastal ecosystems and are of increasing commercial importance. However, physiological differences between strains and species have yet to be described in detail. Furthermore, the strains of Ulva used in aquaculture usually originate from opportunistic collection in the wild without prior selection of best performing strains. Hence, efforts are required to detect the potential variability in growth and metabolic accumulation between Ulva strains and ultimately select the best performing strains under given environmental conditions. Here, the growth, physiological, and metabolic characteristics of 49 laminar Ulva spp. strains were investigated using a custom-made high-throughput phenotyping platform, enzymatic assays, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found large natural variation for a wide range of growth and metabolic characteristics, with growth rates varying from 0.09 to 0.37 mg.mg21.d21 among strains. Ulva spp. possess a unique diurnal growth pattern and primary metabolism compared with land plants, with higher growth rates during the night than during the light period. Starch and sucrose only contributed on average 35% of the carbon required to sustain Ulva’s night growth. Nitrates accumulated during the night in Ulva tissues, and nitrate accumulation and consumption was positively correlated with growth. In addition, we identified six amino acids as possible biomarkers for high growth in Ulva. The large variability in growth and metabolite accumulation recorded among morphologically similar Ulva strains justifies future efforts in strain selection for increasing biomass, metabolite yields, and nutrient removal in the growing aquaculture industry.

References Powered by Scopus

Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4

58522Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

MUSCLE: Multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput

35700Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

lmerTest Package: Tests in Linear Mixed Effects Models

14516Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Ulva spp. carotenoids: Responses to environmental conditions

60Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

From model organism to application: Bacteria-induced growth and development of the green seaweed Ulva and the potential of microbe leveraging in algal aquaculture

51Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cryptic, alien and lost species: molecular diversity of Ulva sensu lato along the German coasts of the North and Baltic Seas

50Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Fort, A., Lebrault, M., Allaire, M., Esteves-Ferreira, A. A., McHale, M., Lopez, F., … Sulpice, R. (2019). Extensive variations in diurnal growth patterns and metabolism among ulva spp. Strains. Plant Physiology, 180(1), 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.18.01513

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 26

53%

Researcher 17

35%

Professor / Associate Prof. 5

10%

Lecturer / Post doc 1

2%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 29

57%

Environmental Science 11

22%

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Bi... 9

18%

Psychology 2

4%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free