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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 3, 2026

An Ultra-clean Multilayer Apparatus for Collecting Size Fractionated Marine Plankton and Suspended Particles
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Prokaryotic bias in surface ocean particles.

Yeongjun Ryu1,2, Ashley E Maloney1,3, Victoria H Luu1

  • 1Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|April 1, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Marine particles are mostly non-living. We used nitrogen isotopes to find that eukaryotic phytoplankton sink faster than prokaryotic ones, impacting ocean carbon export and microbial loops.

Keywords:
chlorophyllnitrogen isotopesparticulate organic matterphytoplankton

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Area of Science:

  • Marine organic geochemistry
  • Phytoplankton ecology
  • Biogeochemical cycles

Background:

  • Ocean surface waters contain particulate organic matter (POM) from phytoplankton photosynthesis.
  • Heterotrophy and sinking limit POM accumulation in open ocean surface waters.
  • The origins and fates of POM are unclear due to altered, nonliving material dominance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the origins of POM in ocean surface waters.
  • To differentiate contributions of eukaryotic and prokaryotic phytoplankton to POM.
  • To understand the implications for ocean productivity and carbon export.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of natural nitrogen isotopic composition of chlorophyll and its degradation products.
  • Estimation of the eukaryotic-to-prokaryotic ratio in particles.
  • Comparison of particle ratios with living phytoplankton ratios.

Main Results:

  • In subtropical gyres and the eastern North Pacific, particle ratios matched living phytoplankton.
  • Outside the North Atlantic subtropical gyre, particles showed a lower eukaryotic-to-prokaryotic ratio than living phytoplankton.
  • Preferential sinking of eukaryotic biomass likely explains this discrepancy.

Conclusions:

  • Eukaryotic phytoplankton biomass preferentially sinks, supporting the paradigm of cyanobacteria fueling microbial communities and eukaryotes driving export production.
  • A prokaryotic bias in surface particles may stem from slow decomposition of prokaryotic biomass, potentially bottlenecking the microbial loop.
  • Differential fates of eukaryotic and prokaryotic phytoplankton organic matter influence ocean productivity, carbon export, and sedimentary records.