Abundance and chemical characterization of extracellular carbohydrates released by the marine diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis under N- and P-limitation

The effect of P- and N-depletion on the production and molecular-level composition of extracellular carbohydrates released by the diatom Cylindrotheca fusiformis was examined in axenic batch cultures. Inorganic phosphorus depletion caused a higher release of organic carbon per cell compared to nutrient-replete and nitrogen-limited conditions. Gas-chromatographic analysis of the monosaccharide composition of the dissolved fraction showed galactose to be the major component of the exopolymers (33-42%). In the P-limited treatment, an increase of galactose content and a decrease of glucose was found, while the composition of the remaining saccharides was almost unaffected. The results point out the relevance of phosphorus limitation not only in causing an increase in total exopolysaccharide production, but also in affecting the neutral aldose composition of the dissolved carbohydrates released by C. fusiformis, with heteropolysaccharides being more abundant than glucan. The overall sugar composition of the exopolymers released under the most severe P-depletion was similar to that of natural mucilage samples collected in the Northern Adriatic Sea during the Summer 2000 event of massive aggregation.