A coastal coccolithophore species (O. neapolitana) maintains pH homeostasis and switches carbon sources in response to ocean acidification

According to a new article published in Nature Communications, a coastal coccolithophore species (Ochrosphaera neapolitana), which has a unique mechanism for producing coccoliths, can maintains constant pH at the calcification site, regardless of CO₂-induced changes in pH of the surrounding seawater. The authors of this study cultured a coccolithophore species (Ochrosphaera neapolitana), the most prolific ocean calcifiers in the ocean, under three pCO₂-controlled seawater pH conditions.  The study found that this algae utilize carbon from a single internal dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) pool for both calcification and photosynthesis, and that a greater proportion of dissolved CO₂ relative to HCO₃⁻ enters the internal DIC pool under acidified conditions.

http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04463-7