Distinct differences in photoacclimation potential between prokaryotic and eukaryotic oceanic phytoplankton

► Analysis of specific growth rates, pigment composition, pigment absorption, elemental composition, and photosynthetic characteristics showed distinct differences in photoacclimation potential between the studied prokaryotic species, Prochlorococcus marinus and Synechococcus sp. (two strains), and the eukaryotic species, Ostreococcus sp., Emiliania huxleyi, and Thalassiosira oceanica. ► Based on growth and photosynthetic characteristics, the photoacclimation potential of the eukaryotic species was significantly higher compared to that of the prokaryotic species under high and dynamic irradiance conditions. ► Differences in pigment composition, for example the presence of a xanthophyll cycle, may have played an important role in the success of photoacclimation of the studied phytoplankton species. ► The results imply that factors other than photoacclimation potential, for example low nutrient availability, are likely to explain the high abundance of prokaryotic picophytoplankton in the open oligotrophic oceans.