Light-Limited Growth Rate Modulates Nitrate Inhibition of Dinitrogen Fixation in the Marine Unicellular Cyanobacterium Crocosphaera watsonii

Biological N 2 fixation is the dominant supply of new nitrogen (N) to the oceans, but is often inhibited in the presence of fixed N sources such as nitrate (NO 3 − ). Anthropogenic fixed N inputs to the ocean are increasing, but their effect on marine N 2 fixation is uncertain. Thus, global estimates of new oceanic N depend on a fundamental understanding of factors that modulate N source preferences by N 2 -fixing cyanobacteria. We examined the unicellular diazotroph Crocosphaera watsonii (strain WH0003) to determine how the light-limited growth rate influences the inhibitory effects of fixed N on N 2 fixation. When growth ( µ ) was limited by low light ( µ  = 0.23 d −1 ), short-term experiments indicated that 0.4 µM NH 4 + reduced N 2 -fixation by ∼90% relative to controls without added NH 4 + . In fast-growing, high-light-acclimated cultures ( µ  = 0.68 d −1 ), 2.0 µM NH 4 + was needed to achieve the same effect. In long-term exposures to NO 3 − , inhibition of N 2 fixation also varied with growth rate. In high-light-acclimated, fast-growing cultures, NO 3 − did not inhibit N 2 -fixation rates in comparison with cultures growing on N 2 alone. Instead NO 3 − supported even faster growth, indicating that the cellular assimilation rate of N 2 alone (i.e. dinitrogen reduction) could not support the light-specific maximum growth rate of Crocosphaera . When growth was severely light-limited, NO 3 − did not support faster growth rates but instead inhibited N 2 -fixation rates by 55% relative to controls. These data rest on the basic tenet that light energy is the driver of photoautotrophic growth while various nutrient substrates serve as supports. Our findings provide a novel conceptual framework to examine interactions between N source preferences and predict degrees of inhibition of N 2 fixation by fixed N sources based on the growth rate as controlled by light.