High-throughput analysis of picocyanobacterial growth responses to a matrix of conditions

Abstract

The highly dynamic nature of coastal and estuarine ecosystems favours niche specialization of phenotypically and genetically similar strains of picocyanobacteria. Current methods of identification of these strains such as morphological and molecular analysis are either prone to error or contain a lack of representation of the diversity of picocyanobacteria found in coastal and estuarine ecosystems, respectively. Examining how these coastal and estuarine strains of picocyanobacteria respond to ecologically relevant environmental conditions may be an additional method of identification and characterization of these strains. I developed and implemented a high-throughput well plate-based approach for characterizing the growth response of strains of picocyanobacteria to matrices of ecologically relevant phosphate concentrations, nitrate concentrations, and light levels. Using this approach, the three strains I analyzed exhibited distinct growth responses to the matrices of conditions. Thus, I present evidence that this approach can be used for characterization of the niches of picocyanobacteria and may be helpful in terms of identification of these strains, particularly when other methods yield inconclusive results.