Several studies have documented that N2 fixation in laboratory cultures of T. erythraeum increased when pCO2 was doubled from present-day atmospheric concentrations

(∼380 ppm) to projected future levels (∼750 ppm). We examined the interactive effects of light and pCO2 on two strains of T. erythraeum Ehrenb. (GBRTRLI101 and IMS101) in laboratory semicontinuous cultures. Elevated pCO2 stimulated gross N2-fixation rates in cultures growing at 38 μmol quanta · m−2 · s−1 (GBRTRLI101 and IMS101) and 100 μmol quanta · m−2 · s−1 (IMS101), but this effect Crizotinib cost was reduced in both strains growing at 220 μmol quanta · m−2 · s−1. Conversely, CO2-fixation rates increased significantly (P < 0.05) in response to high pCO2 under mid- and high irradiances only. These data imply that the stimulatory effect of elevated pCO2 on CO2 fixation and N2 fixation by T. erythraeum is correlated with light. The ratio of gross:net N2 fixation was also correlated with light and trichome length in IMS101. Our study suggests that elevated pCO2 may have a strong positive effect on Trichodesmium gross N2 fixation in intermediate and bottom layers of the euphotic zone, but perhaps not in light-saturated surface layers. Climate change models must consider the interactive effects of

multiple environmental variables on phytoplankton Sirolimus chemical structure and the biogeochemical cycles they mediate. “
“During secondary contact between phylogenetically closely related species (sibling species) having diverged in allopatry, the maintenance

of species integrity depends on intrinsic and extrinsic reproductive barriers. In kelps (Phaeophyceae), the observations of hybrids in laboratory conditions suggest that reproductive isolation is incomplete. However, not all interspecific crosses are successful, and very few hybrids have been observed in nature, despite the co-occurrence of many kelp species in sympatry. This suggests that there are reproductive barriers that maintain species integrity. In this study, we characterized the fine genetic structure of a secondary contact zone to clarify the extent of reproductive isolation between two sister species. In Lessonia nigrescens Bory (Laminariales, Phaeophyta) species complex, two cryptic species have been recently found BCKDHB out from gene phylogenies, and—waiting for a formal taxonomic description—we used their geographic distribution to name them (northern and southern species). We studied 12 populations, distributed along 50 km of coastline, and employed two molecular approaches, assigning individuals to phylogenetic species according to a diagnostic mitochondrial marker (351 individuals analyzed) and quantifying interspecific gene flow with four microsatellite markers (248 individuals analyzed). No hybridization or introgression was revealed, indicating complete reproductive isolation in natural conditions.