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                      |  | BIO-02  Key changes in ocean variability and the effects of climate change |  
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                            |  | Elevated temperature relieves phosphorus limitation of marine unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria Monday 9th @ 1650-1750 , Conference Room 3
 S-BIO-02-02
 Lixia Deng*   , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
 Shunyan Cheung,
 Chang-Keun Kang,
 Kailin Liu,
 Xiaomin Xia,
 Hongbin Liu,
 Presenter Email: ldengae@connect.ust.hk
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                            | The warming ocean is expected to be more phosphorus (P) limited due to increasing stratification. P is a major limiting nutrient of marine diazotrophs, while the interactive effect of temperature elevation and P limitation on marine unicellular diazotrophs is unknown. Here, we examined the physiology of a major unicellular diazotroph, Crocosphaera watsonii, grown under P-limited and P-replete conditions at 25°C, 28°C, and 31°C. Growth, N2, and CO2 fixation rates of C. watsonii increased with temperature under P limitation, and growth rates were similar between P-limited and P-replete treatments at 31°C. At high temperature, the P use efficiencies for N2 and CO2 fixation under P limitation were more than twice higher than under P-replete conditions. Expression of genes involved in P acquisition, intracellular recycling, and substitution in C. watsonii was upregulated at higher temperature under P limitation. These results suggest that P limitation in C. watsonii was relieved with elevated temperature through various temperature-dependent economic strategies on P metabolism. Through meta-analysis of a field data set using general additive model, we found that C. watsonii abundance was correlated mainly with temperature and phosphate, and predicted to increase significantly with further warming. |  |  |  
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