Nutrient-Colimited Trichodesmium as a Nitrogen Source or Sink in a Future Ocean.

Abstract

Nitrogen-fixing (N2) cyanobacteria provide bioavailable nitrogen to vast ocean regions but are in turn limited by iron (Fe) and/or phosphorus (P), which may force them to employ alternative nitrogen acquisition strategies. The adaptive responses of nitrogen fixers to global-change drivers under nutrient-limited conditions could profoundly alter the current ocean nitrogen and carbon cycles. Here, we show that the globally important N2 fixer Trichodesmium fundamentally shifts nitrogen metabolism toward organic-nitrogen scavenging following long-term high-CO2 adaptation under iron and/or phosphorus (co)limitation. Global shifts in transcripts and proteins under high-CO2/Fe-limited and/or P-limited conditions include decreases in the N2-fixing nitrogenase enzyme, coupled with major increases in enzymes that oxidize trimethylamine (TMA). TMA is an abundant, biogeochemically important organic nitrogen compound that supports rapid Trichodesmium growth while inhibiting N2 fixation. In a future high-CO2 ocean, this whole-cell energetic reallocation toward organic nitrogen scavenging and away from N2 fixation may reduce new-nitrogen inputs by Trichodesmium while simultaneously depleting the scarce fixed-nitrogen supplies of nitrogen-limited open-ocean ecosystems.IMPORTANCETrichodesmium is among the most biogeochemically significant microorganisms in the ocean, since it supplies up to 50% of the new nitrogen supporting open-ocean food webs. We used Trichodesmium cultures adapted to high-CO2 conditions for 7 years, followed by additional exposure to iron and/or phosphorus (co)limitation. We show that "future ocean" conditions of high CO2 and concurrent nutrient limitation(s) fundamentally shift nitrogen metabolism away from nitrogen fixation and instead toward upregulation of organic nitrogen-scavenging pathways. We show that the responses of Trichodesmium to projected future ocean conditions include decreases in the nitrogen-fixing nitrogenase enzymes coupled with major increases in enzymes that oxidize the abundant organic nitrogen source trimethylamine (TMA). Such a shift toward organic nitrogen uptake and away from nitrogen fixation may substantially reduce new-nitrogen inputs by Trichodesmium to the rest of the microbial community in the future high-CO2 ocean, with potential global implications for ocean carbon and nitrogen cycling.