Fucoid brown algae inject fucoidan carbon into the ocean

Brown algae annually convert gigatons of carbon dioxide into carbohydrates, including the complex extracellular matrix polysaccharide fucoidan. Due to its persistence in the environment, fucoidan is potentially a pathway for marine carbon sequestration. Rates of fucoidan secretion by brown algae remain unknown due to the challenge of identifying and quantifying complex polysaccharides in seawater. We adapted the techniques of anion exchange chromatography, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and biocatalytic enzyme-based assay for detection and quantification of fucoidan. We found the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus at the Baltic Sea coast of south-west Finland to secrete 0.3% of their biomass as fucoidan per day. Dissolved fucoidan concentrations in seawater adjacent to algae reached up to 0.48 mg L-1. Fucoidan accumulated during incubations of F. vesiculosus, significantly more in light than in darkness. Maximum estimation by acid hydrolysis indicated fucoidan secretion at a rate of 28 to 40 mg C kg-1 h-1, accounting for 44 to 50% of all exuded dissolved organic carbon. Composed only of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur, fucoidan secretion does not consume nutrients enabling carbon sequestration independent of algal growth. Extrapolated over a year, the algae sequester more carbon into secreted fucoidan than their biomass. The global utility of fucoidan secretion is an alternative pathway for carbon dioxide removal by brown algae without the need to harvest or bury algal biomass.

Automated summary

Brown algae have the ability to convert a large amount of carbon dioxide into fucoidan, a complex polysaccharide. Through improved techniques, it has been found that brown algae secrete 0.3% of their biomass as fucoidan per day, with a secretion rate ranging from 28 to 40 mg C kg-1 h-1.