Are you what you eat? Physiological constraints on organismal stoichiometry in an elementally imbalanced world

TLDR

The relative supply of energy and elements in the environment strongly influences organism physiology, thereby affecting ecological processes. The study examines how resource imbalances affect elemental uptake, incorporation, and release, and proposes future research to assess organisms’ internal nutritional composition and the stoichiometry of cellular responses to food resource composition, aiming to deepen understanding of physiological processing of primary elements in growth, reproduction, and maintenance. We review recent research on elemental homeostasis in autotrophs and heterotrophs concerning uptake, incorporation, and release. The review demonstrates that organism elemental homeostasis determines the physiological processes used to acquire, assemble, store, and release biogenic elements, which vary widely in environmental ratios.

Abstract

The relative supply of energy and elements available to organisms in the environment has strong effects on their physiology, which, in turn, can alter important ecological processes. Here we consider how resource imbalances affect three basic physiological processes common to all organisms: elemental uptake, incorporation, and release. We review recent research that addresses these core issues (uptake, incorporation, and release) as they relate to elemental homeostasis in autotrophs and heterotrophs. Our review shows the importance that organism elemental homeostasis plays in determining the types of physiological processes used to acquire, assemble, store, and release biogenic elements, which are found in widely varying ratios in the environment. Future research should examine the degree to which organisms assess their internal nutritional composition and that of their food sources within a multiple elemental and biochemical context. Also, scientists should explore if and how the stoichiometry of cellular and molecular responses underlying nutrient (elemental and biochemical) acquisition, incorporation, and release depends on the nutritional composition of food resources. These types of queries will further improve our understanding of the physiological processing of primary elements involved in growth, reproduction, and maintenance of organisms.