Because of the shortage of phycoerythrin (PE) gene sequences from rhodophytes, peBA encoding β- and α -subunits of PE from three species of red algae (Ceramium boydenn, Halymenia sinensis, and Plocamium telfariae) were cloned and sequenced. Different selection forces have affected the evolution of PE lineages. 8.9 % of the codons were subject to positive selection within the PE lineages (excluding high-irradiance adapted Prochlorococcus). More than 40 % of the sites may be under positive selection, and nearly 20 % sites are weakly constraint sites in high-irradiance adapted Prochlorococcus. Sites most likely undergoing positive selection were found in the chromophore binding domains, suggesting that these sites have played important roles in environmental adaptation during PE diversification. Moreover, the heterogeneous distribution of positively selected sites along the PE gene was revealed from the comparison of low-irradiance adapted Prochlorococcus and marine Synechococcus, which firmly suggests that evolutionary patterns of PEs in these two lineages are significantly different. and S. Qin, F. Q. Zhao, C. K. Tseng.
The photosynthetic bacteria (Rhodospirillum rubrum, Synechococcus and Anabaena variabilis) as well as their fragments embedded in isotropic and anisotropic polymer film were investigated. The orientation of photosynthetic pigments inside these organisms was compared, on the basis of the polarised absorption and fluorescence spectra, with the macroscopic orientation of investigated objects seen under microscope. The anisotropy of fluorescence was much higher than anisotropy of absorption. It showed strong influence of the photoselection by polarised radiation on the various bacterial chromophores exhibiting different orientations in the cells and various yields of fluorescence. The dimensions of cells were investigated on the basis of their photographs and by the scattering of the monochromatic radiation. and A. Planner ... [et al.].
Intact cells of Synechococcus elongatus were treated with different concentrations (0.1 and 1.0 mM = Cd0.1, Cd1.0) of CdCl2 for 24 h. Cd0.1 treatment stimulated growth of the cell culture and chlorophyll (Chl) a concentration in the culture. Cd1.0 inhibited both the above mentioned parameters. The oxygen evolving activity of intact cells (H2O → BQ) as well as of isolated thylakoid membranes, TM (H2O → DCPIP; H2O → PBQ + FeCy) decreased after 24 h of Cd1.0 cultivation to 7 %. Photosystem 1 (PS1) activity was less sensitive to the effect of Cd2+ than PS2 activity. CdCl2 concentration in cultivation media after 24 h of cultivation proved that the cyanobacterium cells take up these ions to a large extent from the cultivation medium. After 24 h of the Cd1.0 treatment only 12 % of the amount of Cd2+ originally added to the cultivation medium was found. The ratio of external-antenna pigments, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin to Chl increased approximately twofold with growing Cd2+ concentration in the cultivation medium. This ratio was found in both TM and dodecylmaltoside extracts. and E. Tůmová, D. Sofrová.
A universal set of equations for determining chlorophyll (Chl) a, accessory Chl b, c, and d, and total Chl have been developed for 90 % acetone, 100 % methanol, and ethanol solvents suitable for estimating Chl in extracts from natural assemblages of algae. The presence of phaeophytin (Ph) a not only interferes with estimates of Chl a but also with Chl b and c determinations. The universal algorithms can hence be misleading if used on natural collections containing large amounts of Ph. The methanol algorithms are severely affected by the presence of Ph and so are not recommended. The algorithms were tested on representative mixtures of Chls prepared from extracts of algae with known Chl composition. The limits of detection (and inherent error, ±95 % confidence limit) for all the Chl equations were less than 0.03 g m-3. The algorithms are both accurate and precise for Chl a and d but less accurate for Chl b and c. With caution the algorithms can be used to calculate a Chl profile of natural assemblages of algae. The relative error of measurements of Chls increases hyperbolically in diluted extracts. For safety reasons, efficient extraction of Chls and the convenience of being able to use polystyrene cuvettes, the algorithms for ethanol are recommended for routine assays of Chls in natural assemblages of aquatic plants.