Letter to the Editor
Upon rehydrating desiccated marine microbial mats, cyanobacterial photosynthesis and migration quickly resume.
Author(s): Madison Smith*
In the arid regions of the Earth, desiccated cyanobacterial mats constitute the predominant biological characteristic. Desiccated cyanobacteria’s reaction to rehydration in terrestrial settings has been extensively studied, but less is known about their behaviour in marine systems. We investigated this reaction in a dehydrated microbial mat from Exmouth Gulf, Australia, using high temporal resolution hyperspectral imaging, liquid chromatography, pulse-amplitude fluorometry, oxygen microsensors, and confocal laser microscopy. Chlorophyll a concentrations increased 2 fold–5 fold over the first 15 minutes after rehydration, and cyanobacterial photosynthesis resumed. We speculate that resynthesis from a precursor stored in dried cyanobacteria is responsible for this sudden surge in chlorophyll a, even if the exact mechanism is still unknown. The reactivated cyanobacteria moved.. Read More»
DOI:
10.3752/puljem.22.4.1
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