Open AccessElemental Composition of C, N and P in Single Cells of Three Filamentous Cyanobacteria Using Nmp (Nuclear Microprobe) and Traditional Techniques
Author(s) -
Eva Pérez Blanco,
Chatarina Karlsson,
Jan Pallon,
Edna Granéli
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
linnaeus eco-tech
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2002-8008
DOI - 10.15626/eco-tech.2012.024
Subject(s) - aphanizomenon , cyanobacteria , phytoplankton , anabaena , botany , microprobe , biology , nitrogen , environmental chemistry , chemistry , mineralogy , bacteria , nutrient , ecology , genetics , organic chemistry
Intracellular contents of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in phytoplankton cells are traditionally measured using concentrates containing thousands to millions of cells. In this study we have used a Nuclear MicroProbe (NMP) as an approach for the determination of C, N and P concentrations in single filaments of three cyanobacteria species: Anabaena sp., Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae var. klebahnii isolated from Baltic Sea water. Estimations of C, N and P content per cell have been calculated and compared with the concentrations found with traditional bulk methods. No significant differences regarding the C, N and P cellular content were found between the two methods for each of the species tested. From our results we conclude that the use of NMP can be a useful tool for studying the elemental contents in single phytoplankton cells occurring among several thousands of other cells of different species in field samples.