Inorganic Nutrient Uptake and Deficiency in Algae

Treatments of inorganic nutrition tend to become listings of poorly related facts and observations. As more information becomes available, this should give way to a drawing together of observations in an attempt to find new insights into the metabolic roles of nutrients and the mechanisms of their assimilation. In the present review, an attempt is made to do this, borrowing information from the physiology of bacteria, fungi, and higher plants where they augment observations on algae. In doing so, some erroneous suggestions are probable, but hopefully areas of needed research will be pointed out.