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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alexei Solovchenko
E-Mail Website

Guest Editor

Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation
Interests: luxury uptake of phosphorus, nutrient biocapture, intracellular nutrient reserves, stress effects on lipid metabolism, high carbon dioxide tolerance, phycoremediation
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues:

In addition to light, photosynthetic organisms, a vital component of the biosphere, require energy, water, and inorganic carbon (a set of mineral nutrients, most important of which are nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)). Single-celled phototrophs as well as higher plants respond to fluctuations in the nutrient availability by deployment of a broad range of acclimations enhancing the N and P acquisition and accumulation of their reserves. On the cellular and subcellular level, the nutrient deprivation and resupply trigger a profound reprogramming of transcriptome and metabolome. On the ecosystem level, the availability of N and especially P modulates the productivity of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Adequate supply of N and P is a prerequisite for crop productivity and hence for food security. Inefficient use of mineral fertilizers leads to soil degradation and eutrophication of eater bodies. Therefore, the practices and technologies for sustainable use of N and P are in great demand.

This Special Issue is intended to advance our understanding of the effects of N and P availability on different aspects of autotrophic cell functioning, including acquisition and uptake of the nutrients and turnover of their cell reserves. Papers elucidating new aspects of cyanobacterial, algal, and plant cell response to the nutrient shortage and their interplay with other stresses offering further mechanistic insights are welcome. Reviews outlining state-of-the-art developments in these fields can be considered as well.

Dr. Alexei Solovchenko
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nutrient uptake
eutrophication
nutrient starvation and luxury uptake
nutrient reserves
nutrient biocapture
nitrogen fixation
sustainable usage of nutrients
nutrient acquisition
nutrient-mobilizing microorganisms
nutrient bioavailability in soil

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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Open AccessArticle

Phosphorus Feast and Famine in Cyanobacteria: Is Luxury Uptake of the Nutrient Just a Consequence of Acclimation to Its Shortage?

Elizaveta Vinogradova

and

Cells 2020, 9(9), 1933; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells9091933 - 21 Aug 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 834

Abstract

To cope with fluctuating phosphorus (P) availability, cyanobacteria developed diverse acclimations, including luxury P uptake (LPU)—taking up P in excess of the current metabolic demand. LPU is underexplored, despite its importance for nutrient-driven rearrangements in aquatic ecosystems. We studied the LPU after the refeeding of P-deprived cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7118 with inorganic phosphate (P_i), including the kinetics of P_i uptake, turnover of polyphosphate, cell ultrastructure, and gene expression. The P-deprived cells deployed acclimations to P shortage (reduction of photosynthetic apparatus and mobilization of cell P reserves). The P-starved cells capable of LPU exhibited a biphasic kinetic of the P_i uptake and polyphosphate formation. The first (fast) phase (1–2 h after P_i refeeding) occurred independently of light and temperature. It was accompanied by a transient accumulation of polyphosphate, still upregulated genes encoding high-affinity P_i transporters, and an ATP-dependent polyphosphate kinase. During the second (slow) phase, recovery from P starvation was accompanied by the downregulation of these genes. Our study revealed no specific acclimation to ample P conditions in Nostoc sp. PCC 7118. We conclude that the observed LPU phenomenon does not likely result from the activation of a mechanism specific for ample P conditions. On the contrary, it stems from slow disengagement of the low-P responses after the abrupt transition from low-P to ample P conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Nutrition, Growth and Metabolism of Photosynthetic Organisms)

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Influence of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Microalgal Growth, Biomass, Lipid, and Fatty Acid Production: An Overview

Maizatul Azrina Yaakob

Radin Maya Saphira Radin Mohamed

Adel Al-Gheethi

Ravishankar Aswathnarayana Gokare

and

Ranga Rao Ambati

Cells 2021, 10(2), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020393 - 14 Feb 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 804

Abstract

Microalgae can be used as a source of alternative food, animal feed, biofuel, fertilizer, cosmetics, nutraceuticals and for pharmaceutical purposes. The extraction of organic constituents from microalgae cultivated in the different nutrient compositions is influenced by microalgal growth rates, biomass yield and nutritional content in terms of lipid and fatty acid production. In this context, nutrient composition plays an important role in microalgae cultivation, and depletion and excessive sources of this nutrient might affect the quality of biomass. Investigation on the role of nitrogen and phosphorus, which are crucial for the growth of algae, has been addressed. However, there are challenges for enhancing nutrient utilization efficiently for large scale microalgae cultivation. Hence, this study aims to highlight the level of nitrogen and phosphorus required for microalgae cultivation and focuses on the benefits of nitrogen and phosphorus for increasing biomass productivity of microalgae for improved lipid and fatty acid quantities. Furthermore, the suitable extraction methods that can be used to utilize lipid and fatty acids from microalgae for biofuel have also been reviewed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Role of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Nutrition, Growth and Metabolism of Photosynthetic Organisms)

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