@article{43be72bfef0b441dbb53dddce22ce599,
title = "A Mechanistic Model of Macromolecular Allocation, Elemental Stoichiometry, and Growth Rate in Phytoplankton",
abstract = "We present a model of the growth rate and elemental stoichiometry of phytoplankton as a function of resource allocation between and within broad macromolecular pools under a variety of resource supply conditions. The model is based on four, empirically-supported, cornerstone assumptions: that there is a saturating relationship between light and photosynthesis, a linear relationship between RNA/protein and growth rate, a linear relationship between biosynthetic proteins and growth rate, and a constant macromolecular composition of the light-harvesting machinery. We combine these assumptions with statements of conservation of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and energy. The model can be solved algebraically for steady state conditions and constrained with data on elemental stoichiometry from published laboratory chemostat studies. It interprets the relationships between macromolecular and elemental stoichiometry and also provides quantitative predictions of the maximum growth rate at given light intensity and nutrient supply rates. The model is compatible with data sets from several laboratory studies characterizing both prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton from marine and freshwater environments. It is conceptually simple, yet mechanistic and quantitative. Here, the model is constrained only by elemental stoichiometry, but makes predictions about allocation to measurable macromolecular pools, which could be tested in the laboratory.",
keywords = "RNA, elemental stoichiometry, growth rate, macromolecule, nutrient storage, photosynthesis, phytoplankton, protein",
author = "Keisuke Inomura and Omta, {Anne Willem} and David Talmy and Jason Bragg and Curtis Deutsch and Follows, {Michael J.}",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Rogier Braakman, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Takako Masuda, Jodi N. Young, and Sallie W. Chisholm for useful discussions. We are grateful to Hedy Kling and Christine Sherratt for sharing the information about Synechococcus linearis and members of Writing and Communication Center at MIT for their advice on writing. We appreciate thoughtful and helpful comments and suggestions from the reviewers, which have greatly improved the manuscript. Funding. This research was supported by the Japan Student Service Organization (L11171020001, KI), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF 3775, CD; GBMF 3778, MF), US National Science Foundation (OCE-1558702, MF), and the Simons Foundation (Simons Postdoctoral Fellowship in Marine Microbial Ecology, Award 544338, KI; Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology, Award 329108, MF; Simons Collaboration on Computational Biogeochemical Modeling of Marine Ecosystems, CBIOMES, Award 549931, MF). Funding Information: This research was supported by the Japan Student Service Organization (L11171020001, KI), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF 3775, CD; GBMF 3778, MF), US National Science Foundation (OCE-1558702, MF), and the Simons Foundation (Simons Postdoctoral Fellowship in Marine Microbial Ecology, Award 544338, KI; Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology, Award 329108, MF; Simons Collaboration on Computational Biogeochemical Modeling of Marine Ecosystems, CBIOMES, Award 549931, MF). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Copyright {\textcopyright} 2020 Inomura, Omta, Talmy, Bragg, Deutsch and Follows.",
year = "2020",
month = feb,
day = "28",
doi = "10.3389/fmicb.2020.00086",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "11",
journal = "Frontiers in Microbiology",
issn = "1664-302X",
publisher = "Frontiers Media S. A.",
}