Levels of Daily Light Doses Under Changed Day-Night Cycles Regulate Temporal Segregation of Photosynthesis and N(2) Fixation in the Cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101

While the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium is known to display inverse diurnal performances of photosynthesis and N(2) fixation, such a phenomenon has not been well documented under different day-night (L-D) cycles and different levels of light dose exposed to the cells. Here, we show differences in growth, N(2) fixation and photosynthetic carbon fixation as well as photochemical performances of Trichodesmium IMS101 grown under 12L:12D, 8L:16D and 16L:8D L-D cycles at 70 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1) PAR (LL) and 350 μmol photons m(-2) s(-1) PAR (HL). The specific growth rate was the highest under LL and the lowest under HL under 16L:8D, and it increased under LL and decreased under HL with increased levels of daytime light doses exposed under the different light regimes, respectively. N(2) fixation and photosynthetic carbon fixation were affected differentially by changes in the day-night regimes, with the former increasing directly under LL with increased daytime light doses and decreased under HL over growth-saturating light levels. Temporal segregation of N(2) fixation from photosynthetic carbon fixation was evidenced under all day-night regimes, showing a time lag between the peak in N(2) fixation and dip in carbon fixation. Elongation of light period led to higher N(2) fixation rate under LL than under HL, while shortening the light exposure to 8 h delayed the N(2) fixation peaking time (at the end of light period) and extended it to night period. Photosynthetic carbon fixation rates and transfer of light photons were always higher under HL than LL, regardless of the day-night cycles. Conclusively, diel performance of N(2) fixation possesses functional plasticity, which was regulated by levels of light energy supplies either via changing light levels or length of light exposure.