A theoretical description of nitrate uptake kinetics in marine phytoplankton based on bisubstrate kinetics

Abstract

Using well known equations for bisubstrate enzyme kinetics, a model for nitrate uptake in marine phytoplankton is generated. The model attempts to include both extracellular nitrate concentrations and incident light intensities as substrates required by the cells to take up nitrate. An affinity constant, K LN , is defined which relates nitrate uptake kinetics to light intensities and extracellular nitrate concentrations simultaneously.