Yitong Wang, Xi Zhu, Yuna Wang, Xingxing Cai, Hao Long, Aiyou Huang, Yanhua Zeng, Wei Ren, Zhenyu Xie, Xiaoni Cai
{"title":"Elevated carbon dioxide enhances polyunsaturated fatty acids in Isochrysis galbana and improves rotifer growth through algal feeding","authors":"Yitong Wang, Xi Zhu, Yuna Wang, Xingxing Cai, Hao Long, Aiyou Huang, Yanhua Zeng, Wei Ren, Zhenyu Xie, Xiaoni Cai","doi":"10.1002/lno.70195","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Elevated atmospheric CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> levels directly affect marine primary producers by altering their photosynthetic efficiency and biochemical composition, thereby modifying nutrient transfer throughout marine food webs. This study examines the physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic responses of the microalga <jats:italic>Isochrysis galbana</jats:italic> when cultured under elevated CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> level (1000 <jats:italic>μ</jats:italic>atm CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>) and current ambient CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> level (420 <jats:italic>μ</jats:italic>atm CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>) conditions, as well as the subsequent effects of feeding these algae to rotifer (<jats:italic>Brachionus plicatilis</jats:italic>). Under high CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> conditions, <jats:italic>I. galbana</jats:italic> exhibited enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, carbon fixation, and energy metabolism, driven by the upregulation of genes involved in photosynthesis, the Calvin‐Benson cycle, and glycolysis. These molecular adaptations increased the growth rate by 24% and increased the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) by 8%, including docosahexaenoic acid, which improves the nutritional quality of the alga. Feeding experiments demonstrated that rotifers fed with <jats:italic>I. galbana</jats:italic> grown under high‐CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> conditions exhibited improved growth and enriched PUFA profiles, highlighting the potential for high‐CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>‐induced changes in primary producers to enhance trophic transfer efficiency. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying <jats:italic>I. galbana</jats:italic>'s response to elevated CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> and its ecological implications. The findings emphasize the capacity of marine microalgae to adapt to environmental changes and highlight the cascading effects of elevated CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> on marine food web nutrition and dynamics.","PeriodicalId":18143,"journal":{"name":"Limnology and Oceanography","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Limnology and Oceanography","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.70195","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"LIMNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Elevated atmospheric CO2 levels directly affect marine primary producers by altering their photosynthetic efficiency and biochemical composition, thereby modifying nutrient transfer throughout marine food webs. This study examines the physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic responses of the microalga Isochrysis galbana when cultured under elevated CO2 level (1000 μatm CO2) and current ambient CO2 level (420 μatm CO2) conditions, as well as the subsequent effects of feeding these algae to rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis). Under high CO2 conditions, I. galbana exhibited enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, carbon fixation, and energy metabolism, driven by the upregulation of genes involved in photosynthesis, the Calvin‐Benson cycle, and glycolysis. These molecular adaptations increased the growth rate by 24% and increased the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) by 8%, including docosahexaenoic acid, which improves the nutritional quality of the alga. Feeding experiments demonstrated that rotifers fed with I. galbana grown under high‐CO2 conditions exhibited improved growth and enriched PUFA profiles, highlighting the potential for high‐CO2‐induced changes in primary producers to enhance trophic transfer efficiency. This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying I. galbana's response to elevated CO2 and its ecological implications. The findings emphasize the capacity of marine microalgae to adapt to environmental changes and highlight the cascading effects of elevated CO2 on marine food web nutrition and dynamics.
期刊介绍:
Limnology and Oceanography (L&O; print ISSN 0024-3590, online ISSN 1939-5590) publishes original articles, including scholarly reviews, about all aspects of limnology and oceanography. The journal''s unifying theme is the understanding of aquatic systems. Submissions are judged on the originality of their data, interpretations, and ideas, and on the degree to which they can be generalized beyond the particular aquatic system examined. Laboratory and modeling studies must demonstrate relevance to field environments; typically this means that they are bolstered by substantial "real-world" data. Few purely theoretical or purely empirical papers are accepted for review.