Are freshwater mixotrophic ciliates less sensitive to solar ultraviolet radiation than heterotrophic ones?

We tested whether mixotrophic ciliates are more resistant to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) than heterotrophic ones because symbiotic algae can provide self-shading by cell matter absorption and eventually by direct UV screening from mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). Sensitivity of a natural assemblage to solar radiation was tested in experiments in the original lake and in a more UV transparent alpine lake after transplantation of the ciliates. In both lakes, the assemblage was exposed either to full sunlight, to photosynthetically active radiation only, or kept in the dark. In each lake, exposure was for 5 h at the surface and at the depth corresponding to the 10% attenuation depth at 320 nm. Overall, when the assemblage was exposed to surface UVR, only one out of four dominant mixotrophic ciliates, Vorticella chlorellata, was more resistant than heterotrophic species. The higher UV resistance in V. chlorellata was related to the presence of MAAs and the high percentage of ciliate volume occupied by algal symbionts. Our results indicate that effects of UVR were species-specific and depended on efficient screening of these wavelengths, but also on the depth preference of the ciliates and thus, on their previous exposure history to UVR.