Nicola Pratt

University of Southampton · National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS)

Photosynthesis holds the promise of sustainable generation of useful products using light energy. Key to realising this potential is the ability to rationally design photosynthesis to redirect energy and reductant derived from photons to desired products. Cytochrome P450s, which catalyze a broad array of reactions, have been engineered into a varie...

Temperature and nutrient supply are key factors that control phytoplankton ecophysiology, but their role is commonly investigated in isolation. Their combined effect on resource allocation, photosynthetic strategy and metabolism remain poorly understood. To characterize the photosynthetic strategy and resource allocation under different conditions,...

Temperature and nutrient availability have been deeply addressed in isolation by most of the studies. Now we know that temperature has a strong effect on phytoplankton resource allocation and metabolic rates just under nutrient sufficient conditions while under nutrient limitation its effect seems to become almost negligible. Here we also show that...

Plankton are an extremely diverse and polyphyletic group, exhibiting a large range in morphological and physiological traits. Here, we apply automated optical techniques, provided by the pulse‐shape recording automated flow cytometer—CytoSense—to investigate trait variability of phytoplankton and plastidic ciliates in Arctic and Atlantic waters of...

Global increases in sea temperatures and atmospheric concentrations of CO2 may affect the health of calcifying shellfish. Little is known, however, about how competitive interactions within and between species may influence how species respond to multiple stressors. We experimentally assessed separate and combined effects of temperature (12 or 16°C...

Concentrations of heme b, the ironcontaining prosthetic group of many hemoproteins, were measured in 6 species of marine phytoplankton (Dunaliella tertiolecta, Emiliania huxleyi, Thalassiosira weissflogii, T. oceanica, Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Synechococcus sp. WH7803) that were subjected to variations in iron concentration. Changes in heme b...

Marine cyanobacteria of the genus Trichodesmium occur throughout the oligotrophic tropical and subtropical oceans, where they can dominate the diazotrophic community in regions with high inputs of the trace metal iron (Fe). Iron is necessary for the functionality of enzymes involved in the processes of both photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation. We...