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JPR Advance Access originally published online on May 3, 2006
Journal of Plankton Research 2006 28(8):737-751; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbl007
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The balance of autotrophy and heterotrophy during mixotrophic growth of Karlodinium micrum (Dinophyceae)

Jason E. Adolf1,*,{dagger}, Diane K. Stoecker1 and Lawrence W. Harding, Jr1,2

1 Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA and 2 Maryland Sea Grant, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20740, USA

{dagger} Present Address: Umbi Center of Marine Biotechnology, Columbus Center, Suite 236, 701 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, USA

* Corresponding Author: adolf{at}umbi.umd.edu

Received October 21, 2005; accepted in principle February 22, 2006; accepted for publication April 22, 2006; published online May 3, 2006
Communicating editor: K.J. Flynn

We studied autotrophic and heterotrophic C metabolism during mixotrophic growth of Karlodinium micrum (Leadbeter et Dodge) Larsen (Dinophyceae) on prey Storeatula major (Cryptophyceae). Our goal was to determine the balance of autotrophy and heterotrophy that supports mixotrophic growth in K. micrum. Assimilation of inorganic 14C and 14C-labeled prey was used to separate the quantity and quality (i.e., lipid, polysaccharide and protein) of C obtained by autotrophy and heterotrophy, respectively. Growth rates (µ) of mixotrophic K. micrum were 0.52–0.75 div.·day–1, equal to or greater than the maximum autotrophic growth rate (0.55 div.·day–1) of K. micrum. Autotrophy represented 27–69% of gross C uptake during mixotrophic growth. Cellular photosynthetic performance (PPcell, pg C cell–1·day–1) was 24–52% lower during mixotrophic growth than during autotrophic growth of K. micrum. Mixotrophic K. micrum assimilated 16% less photosynthate as protein compared to autotrophic K. micrum, while protein was the major net assimilation product (52%) from ingested prey C. Growth efficiency (%GE) of mixotrophic cultures, based on both autotrophic and heterotrophic C sources, averaged 36 ± 2.9%, slightly lower than the 40–50% GE typical of purely autotrophic K. micrum, but higher C gains associated with heterotrophic feeding more than compensated for the decrease in %GE in mixotrophic K. micrum. We conclude that mixotrophic growth of K. micrum is dominated by heterotrophic metabolism, although photosynthesis continues at a lowered rate. This is consistent with a shift toward secondary production in plankton assemblages dominated by mixotrophically growing K. micrum.


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