Fig. 2: P_i acquisition rates of oceanic and cultured cells.

a Comparison of cellular P_i clearance rates of oceanic SAR11 (light blue triangles, n = 14), Prochlorococcus (green triangles, n = 11) and Synechococcus (pink diamonds, n = 7) at ambient P_i concentrations with rates of cultured Synechococcus strains WH7803 (yellow circles, n = 10), WH8102 (red circles, n = 35) and WH8109 (brown circles, n = 8) across a wide range of P_i concentrations. b Comparison of maximal cellular P_i accumulation rates of the same bacteria (SAR11 n = 12, Prochlorococcus n = 7, Synechococcu n = 7, WH7803 n = 10, WH8102 n = 35 and WH8109 n = 8). Dashed lines indicate corresponding (a) cellular volumes (µm³ cell⁻¹) and (b) cellular phosphorus content (P atoms cell⁻¹) of oceanic SAR11 (light blue), Prochlorococcus (green), Synechococcus (pink) and cultured Synechococcus sp. WH8102 (orange). Horizontal grey lines indicate major ticks of the logarithmic Y-axis to assist comparing values. Symbols present individual measurements for cultured Synechococcus cells and mean values of four sorting replicates for oceanic bacteria; error bars indicate corresponding SD. The full range of rates of oceanic bacteria is shown in Supplementary Fig. 2. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.