As climate change continues to affect ocean pH, iron stress will become a reality for more aquatic species, including photosynthetic diatoms. Diatoms contain two fused antenna-reaction center complexes: photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII). PSII has a lower iron requirement, which allows diatom strains with a higher PSII: PSI ratio to be more resilient under iron stress. Our lab investigated the impact of iron stress on the light-harvesting processes of the diatom <i>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</i> collected from both oceanic and coastal environments. The diatoms were grown in a range of iron concentrations. UV-Vis was used to monitor the growth rate of diatoms and fluorescence lifetimes were measured to understand their light-harvesting dynamics, informing us about how these organisms adapt to their changing environment. We observe that as iron concentration decreases, the growth rate in diatoms also decreases. Studying diatom function under lower iron concentrations in oceans could further expand our understanding of how diatoms adapt to external stressors.

Effect of iron stress on diatom <i>Phaeodactylum tricornutum</i> light-harvesting in coastal vs. oceanic environments

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Effect of iron stress on diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum light-harvesting in coastal vs. oceanic environments