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Measurement of Tissue Non-Heme Iron Content using a Bathophenanthroline-Based Colorimetric Assay
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LOCALIZATION OF IRON WITHIN CENTRIC DIATOMS OF THE GENUS THALASSIOSIRA(1)
Jochen Nuester1, Stefan Vogt1, Benjamin S Twining1
1Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine 04544, USAX-ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USABigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine 04544, USA.
Journal of Phycology
|March 25, 2016
Summary
Centric diatoms store excess iron (Fe) in specialized cellular features, likely within vacuoles. Thalassiosira weissflogii showed significant Fe storage increases under high Fe conditions, unlike T. pseudonana.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Biogeochemistry
- Cellular biology
Background:
- Centric diatoms' cellular iron (Fe) quotas vary with environmental Fe concentrations.
- The mechanisms of intracellular Fe storage in diatoms remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate intracellular Fe storage strategies in centric diatoms under varying Fe availability.
- To identify and characterize Fe storage features in Thalassiosira pseudonana and Thalassiosira weissflogii.
Main Methods:
- Synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF) element mapping was employed.
- Cells of T. pseudonana and T. weissflogii were cultured under low and high dissolved Fe conditions.
- Intracellular Fe storage features were identified by localized high Fe concentrations relative to P, S, Si, and Zn.
Main Results:
- Localized intracellular Fe storage features were more prevalent in high-Fe grown T. weissflogii.
- T. weissflogii exhibited a 2.9-fold increase in cellular Fe quotas, with Fe storage features expanding significantly in size and Fe content under high Fe.
- T. pseudonana showed increased Fe quotas but less pronounced increases in Fe storage features, potentially due to culture growth states.
Conclusions:
- Vacuolar storage of polyphosphate-bound Fe is a likely mechanism for excess intracellular Fe in T. weissflogii.
- Species-specific differences in Fe storage capacity exist between T. pseudonana and T. weissflogii.
- Fe storage strategies in diatoms are influenced by both external Fe availability and internal cellular conditions.
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