Molecular evidence of iron limitation and availability in the global diazotroph Trichodesmium.

The activity of the N(2)-fixing cyanobacterial genus Trichodesmium is critical to the global nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycles. Although iron (Fe) has been shown to be an important element limiting the growth and N(2) fixation of Trichodesmium, there have been no specific data demonstrating the in situ affect of Fe on Trichodesmium. We surveyed Trichodesmium populations from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for Fe limitation using a novel quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR (qRT-PCR) method monitoring the expression of an Fe limitation-induced gene, isiB.