A source or sink of carbon dioxide? Understanding the role of extracellular carbonic anhydrase in carbon acquisition by algal cells

Wheeler, G 2026 A source or sink of carbon dioxide? Understanding the role of extracellular carbonic anhydrase in carbon acquisition by algal cells. New Phytologist. 10.1111/nph.70996.

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Abstract/Summary

All photosynthetic organisms must acquire CO2 for carbon fixation. However, in many aquatic environments, CO2 represents only a tiny proportion of the available dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). To compensate for the low availability of CO2, algae can utilise mechanisms to access the abundant pool of bicarbonate (HCO3−), either by generating more CO2 at the cell surface or by directly taking up HCO3− across the plasma membrane (Matsuda et al., 2017). DIC is therefore taken up across the plasma membrane as either CO2 or HCO3−. Although these processes are fundamental to our understanding of algal photosynthesis and its sensitivity to a changing climate, they remain an area for considerable debate. In an article recently published in New Phytologist, Li and Young (2026; https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70996) address this issue using a novel combination of techniques to provide new perspectives into the mechanisms of carbon uptake in the polar diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	bicarbonate, carbon concentrating mechanism, carbon dioxide, carbonic anhydrase, diatom, photosynthesis
Subjects:	Marine Sciences
Divisions:	Marine Biological Association of the UK > Marine Microbiome
Depositing User:	Ms Kristina Hixon
Date made live:	01 Jun 2026 08:16
Last Modified:	01 Jun 2026 08:16
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/10614

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