High Rate of Uptake of Organic Nitrogen Compounds by Prochlorococcus Cyanobacteria as a Key to Their Dominance in Oligotrophic Oceanic Waters

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Abstract
Direct evidence that marine cyanobacteria take up organic nitrogen compounds in situ at high rates is reported. About 33% of the total bacterioplankton turnover of amino acids, determined with a representative [35S]methionine precursor and flow sorting, can be assigned to Prochlorococcus spp. and 3% can be assigned to Synechococcus spp. in the oligotrophic and mesotrophic parts of the Arabian Sea, respectively. This finding may provide a mechanism for Prochlorococcus9 competitive dominance over both strictly autotrophic algae and other bacteria in oligotrophic regions sustained by nutrient remineralization via a microbial loop.