- Laboratory for Global Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry
- School of Environmental Sciences
- University of East Anglia
- UK
Research interests
General interests
- Phytoplankton biology and ecophysiology
- From molecular and cellular level to the ecosystem and environmental scale
- Use and promotion of phytoplankton in biotechnologies
Research topic
DMS and DMSP production by marine dinoflagellates
Some phytoplankton species are able to produce dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of the cooling-climate gas dimethylsulphide (DMS).Leaving apart for a long time, dinoflagellates is one of the major phytoplankton groups producing DMSP. The construction of a database has evidenced a huge interspecific variability in their DMSP production ability. The diversity of this group is explored to attempt explaining this interspecific variability with particular attention to the plastid type. Moreover, in depth investigation of the heterotrophic species Crypthecodinium cohnii is achieved to improve our understanding on the biological role of DMSP.
Most recent publications
- Caruana AMN, Steinke M, Turner SM, Malin G (2012). Concentrations of dimethylsulphoniopropionate and activities of dimethylsulphide-producing enzymes in batch cultures of nine dinoflagellate species. Biogeochemistry, DOI 10.1007/s10533-012-9705-4.
- Caruana A, (2010). DMS and DMSP production by marine dinoflagellates PhD thesis, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK, 305 p.
