A Minority of Desert Cyanobacteria and Algae Is Responsible for the Bulk of CO 2 Fixation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Cyanobacteria and algae are the major photosynthetic organisms in deserts because they survive desiccation, high solar radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations better than other plants. Under favourable conditions, desert cyanobacteria and algae evidently photosynthesise. However, our understanding of whether each group modulates this metabolic process in response to preceding harsh conditions remains limited. To find out the effect of aridity on the photosynthetic activity of desert cyanobacteria and algae, we compared their cellular biovolume‐specific carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fixation in the hyper‐arid and arid regions of a typical hot desert—the central Negev Desert. We found that the biovolume‐specific CO 2 fixation of both cyanobacteria and algae was highly variable rather than being constant. The values ranged from 20 to 40 folds, with 3–4 values out > 80 being similarly high. In response to aridity, at least a third of cyanobacteria and algae had low CO 2 fixation activity (< 20% of the maximal rate) and contributed merely ~10% of the total CO 2 fixation. Less than a quarter of cyanobacteria and algae fixed CO 2 at a high rate (> 40% of the maximal rate) and, hence, were responsible for the bulk of CO 2 fixation in the desert. Because the taxonomic composition of cyanobacterial and algal assemblages in the Negev is typical of biocrusts of the drylands, the aridity‐dependent dynamic of photosynthetic activity revealed in the Negev is likely a general trait for desert cyanobacteria and algae.
Source: Physiologia Plantarum
DOI: 10.1111/ppl.70634
Institution: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,150
OpenAlex ID: W4416157158