Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23924785›Full record

ArticleThe ISME journal2014

Mixotrophic haptophytes are key bacterial grazers in oligotrophic coastal waters.

Fernando Unrein, Josep M Gasol, Fabrice Not, Irene Forn, Ramon Massana

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The ISME journal, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
75citing papers in PubMed
15.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

75 citing papers in PubMed, 271 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Trophic Diversity in Duckweed: Mixotrophy, More Than the Sum of its Extremes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Review
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  6. The fluid dynamics and functional diversity of the flagella of free-living flagellates.Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences · 2025
    Review
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15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Fernando UnreinDepartament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Josep M GasolDepartament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Fabrice NotDepartament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Irene FornDepartament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Ramon MassanaDepartament de Biologia Marina i Oceanografia, Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Institut Català de Ciències del Clima · ESCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Grazing rate estimates indicate that approximately half of the bacterivory in oligotrophic oceans is due to mixotrophic flagellates (MFs). However, most estimations have considered algae as a single group. Here we aimed at opening the black-box of the phytoflagellates (PFs) <20 μm. Haptophytes, chlorophytes, cryptophytes and pigmented dinoflagellates were identified using fluorescent in situ hybridization or by standard 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining. Their fluctuations in abundance, cell size, biomass and bacterivory rates were measured through an annual cycle in an oligotrophic coastal system. On average, we were able to assign to these groups: 37% of the total pico-PFs and 65% of the nano-PFs composition. Chlorophytes were mostly picoplanktonic and they never ingested fluorescently labeled bacteria. About 50% of the PF <20 μm biomass was represented by mixotrophic algae. Pigmented dinoflagellates were the least abundant group with little impact on bacterioplankton. Cryptophytes were quantitatively important during the coldest periods and explained about 4% of total bacterivory. Haptophytes were the most important mixotrophic group: (i) they were mostly represented by cells 3-5 μm in size present year-round; (ii) cell-specific grazing rates were comparable to those of other bacterivorous non-photosynthetic organisms, regardless of the in situ nutrient availability conditions; (iii) these organisms could acquire a significant portion of their carbon by ingesting bacteria; and (iv) haptophytes explained on average 40% of the bacterivory exerted by MFs and were responsible for 9-27% of total bacterivory at this site. Our results, when considered alongside the widespread distribution of haptophytes in the ocean, indicate that they have a key role as bacterivores in marine ecosystems.

Indexed as

Bacterial Physiological PhenomenaEcosystemWater MicrobiologyBiodiversityHaptophytaIn Situ Hybridization, FluorescenceOceans and SeasSeawater

Identifiers

PMID23924785
PMCPMC3869011
OpenAlexW2108107413

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.