When it comes to diatoms that live in the ocean, new research suggests that photosynthesis is not the only strategy for accumulating carbon.
When it comes to diatoms that live in the ocean, new research suggests that photosynthesis is not the only strategy for accumulating carbon. Instead, these single-celled plankton are also building biomass by feeding directly on organic carbon in wide swaths of the ocean. These new findings could lead researchers to reduce their estimate of how much carbon dioxide diatoms pull out of the air via photosynthesis, which in turn, could alter our understanding of the global carbon cycle, which is especially relevant given the changing climate.
This research is led by bioengineers, bioinformatics experts and other genomics researchers at the University of California San Diego. The new findings are published in Science Advances on July 17, 2024.
The team showed that the diatom Cylindrotheca closterium, which is found in oceans around the world, regularly performs a simultaneous mix of both photosynthesis and direct eating of carbon from organic sources such as plankton. In more than 70% of the water samples the researchers analyzed from oceans around the world, the team found signs of simultaneous photosynthesis and direct organic carbon consumption from Cylindrotheca closterium.
The team also showed that this diatom species can grow much faster when consuming organic carbon in addition to photosynthesis.
Read more at University of California - San Diego
