2026/01/02 by Anna Feuring, Connor D. Lawrence, Jessica Salcedo +4 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Protist diversity and phylogeny #Marine and coastal ecosystems #Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
paper · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-67818-x
openalex publication_date 2026/01/02 · openalex created_date 2026/01/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract Fungal parasites are associated with bloom-forming algae, yet their impact on N 2 fixation and the fate of newly fixed nitrogen during cyanobacterial blooms is poorly understood. We report infections on the ecologically important N 2 -fixing cyanobacterium Dolichospermum (formerly Anabaena ) in the Baltic Sea. Using single-cell isotope probing, microscopy, and biogeochemical analyses, we examine how infections affect carbon and N 2 fixation and elemental transfer within a natural community. Fungal sporangia infect up to 80% of filaments, mostly targeting storage cells (akinetes, 82% prevalence) and N 2 -fixing cells (heterocytes, 44%), but rarely vegetative cells (5%). Infections at akinete–heterocyte junctions extract 4- and 10-fold more carbon and nitrogen than those on vegetative cells, reducing host storage by 28% and 56%. Overall, 22% of newly fixed nitrogen is transferred to fungi, comparable to heterotrophic bacteria. Infections also occur in Nodularia and Aphanizomenon , suggesting fungi-like parasitism broadly affects bloom dynamics and the fate of new nitrogen.