Growth, N2 fixation and photosynthesis in a cyanobacterium, Trichodesmium sp., under Fe stress.

Trichodesmium sp., isolated from the Great Barrier Reef lagoon, was cultured in artificial seawater media containing a range of Fe concentration. Fe additions stimulated growth, N2 fixation, cellular chlorophyll a content, light-saturated chlorophyll a-specific gross photosynthetic capacity (Pmchl a) and the dark respiration rate (Rdchl a). Cell yields only doubled for 9 nM Fe relative to zero added Fe, whereas N2 fixation increased 11-fold considerably for 450 nM Fe. The results suggest that N2 fixation of Trichodesmium is more sensitive to Fe limitation than are the cell yields.