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PubMed1973

Formation of carbon monoxide and bile pigment in red and blue-green algae.

Five blue-green and one red algal species produced carbon monoxide during photosynthetic growth. The blue-green algae synthesized CO and phycocyanobilin in equimolar quantities at identical rates. The red alga, Porphyridium cruentum, incorporated Delta-aminolevulinic acid-5-(14)C into phycoerythrobilin and CO. The ratio of the specific radioactivity of phycoerythrobilin to that of CO, and the kinetics and stoichiometry of phycocyanobilin and CO formation suggest that linear tetrapyrroles in plants are derived by the porphyrin pathway via the intermediate formation of heme. The similarity between bile pigment production in algae and in mammalian systems is discussed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Influence of selenium on toxicity of some heavy metals in the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus.

The green alga Scenedesmus obliquus was incubated with various heavy metals (Cd2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+) in presence/absence of selenium. S. obliquus exhibited higher rates of growth and some metabolic activities in cultures containing 0.1 mM Se than those containing only the heavy metals. The positive effect of Se was found in presence of Cd2+ while that in the case of presence of Ni2+ was less pronounced.

Cadmium↗

PubMed2003

The mitochondrial genome of Chara vulgaris: insights into the mitochondrial DNA architecture of the last common ancestor of green algae and land plants.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has undergone radical changes during the evolution of green plants, yet little is known about the dynamics of mtDNA evolution in this phylum. Land plant mtDNAs differ from the few green algal mtDNAs that have been analyzed to date by their expanded size, long spacers, and diversity of introns. We have determined the mtDNA sequence of Chara vulgaris (Charophyceae), a green alga belonging to the charophycean order (Charales) that is thought to be the most closely related alga to land plants. This 67,737-bp mtDNA sequence, displaying 68 conserved genes and 27 introns, was compared with those of three angiosperms, the bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha, the charophycean alga Chaetosphaeridium globosum (Coleochaetales), and the green alga Mesostigma viride. Despite important differences in size and intron composition, Chara mtDNA strikingly resembles Marchantia mtDNA; for instance, all except 9 of 68 conserved genes lie within blocks of colinear sequences. Overall, our genome comparisons and phylogenetic analyses provide unequivocal support for a sister-group relationship between the Charales and the land plants. Only four introns in land plant mtDNAs appear to have been inherited vertically from a charalean algar ancestor. We infer that the common ancestor of green algae and land plants harbored a tightly packed, gene-rich, and relatively intron-poor mitochondrial genome. The group II introns in this ancestral genome appear to have spread to new mtDNA sites during the evolution of bryophytes and charalean green algae, accounting for part of the intron diversity found in Chara and land plant mitochondria.

Base Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Activity of aminotransferases in the blue green alga Anacystis nidulans].

The blue-green alga Anacystis nidulans (strain L 1402-1) was grown at +37 degrees C in air (0.03 vol% CO2 and in air enriched with 3.0 vol% CO2. The effects of several inhibitors on the activity of aminotransferases, 14CO2 fixation and radioactive photosynthetic products of Anacystis were studied. No serine-pyruvate aminotransferase activity could be found in 10-2 M isonicotinyl hydrazide (INH); under the influence of this inhibitor aspartate and alanine aminotransferase were decreased about 49% respectively 17.6%. Serine-pyruvate and alanine aminotransferase activity decreased to more than 50% in 10-3 M glyoxalbisulfite. The obtained inhibitory effect of 10-4 M HPMS on serine-pyruvate aminotransferase (35%) was stronger than one the other aminotransferases. DCMU (5 x 10-6 M) inhibition on alanine aminotransferase activity was 83.7%. Under the influence of 10-3 M glyoxalbisulfite no 14C-labelled amino acids could be detected after 5 min photosynthesis; 14C-labelling of phosphoenolpyruvate, malate, phosphoglycolate and glycolic acid increased. Isonicotinyl hydrazide (10-2 M) caused in comparison to the control experiment a lower radioactivity in aspartate glutamate and phosphoenolpyruvate. The results are discussed with reference fo the operation of the glycolate pathway and a carboxylation reaction of phosphoenol-pyruvate in the blue-green alga Anacystis nidulans.

Alanine Transaminase↗

PubMed2006

Electrophysiology of turgor regulation in marine siphonous green algae.

We review electrophysiological measures of turgor regulation in some siphonous green algae, primarily the giant-celled marine algae, Valonia and Ventricaria, with particular comparison to the well studied charophyte algae Chara and Lamprothamnium. The siphonous green algae have a less negative plasma membrane potential, and are unlikely to have a proton-based chemiosmotic transport system, dominated by active electrogenic K(+) uptake. We also make note of the unusual cellular structure of the siphonous green algae. Hypertonic stress, due to increased external osmotic pressure, is accompanied by positive-going potential difference (PD), increase in conductance, and slow turgor regulation. The relationship between these is not yet resolved, but may involve changes in K(+ )conductance (G (K)) or active K(+) transport at both membranes. Hypotonic turgor regulation, in response to decreased external osmotic pressure, is approximately 3 times faster than hypertonic turgor regulation. It is accompanied by a negative-going PD, although conductance also increases. The conductance increase and the magnitude of the PD change are strongly correlated with the magnitude of hypotonic stress.

Chara↗

PubMed1978

Effect of temperature on blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in lake mendota.

The temperature optimum for photosynthesis of natural populations of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) from Lake Mendota was determined during the period of June to November 1976. In the spring, when temperatures ranged from 0 to 20 degrees C, there were insignificant amounts of blue-green algae in the lake (less than 1% of the biomass). During the summer and fall, when the dominant phytoplankton was blue-green algae, the optimum temperature for photosynthesis was usually between 20 and 30 degrees C, whereas the environmental temperatures during this period ranged from 24 degrees C in August to 12 degrees C in November. In general, the optimum temperature for photosynthesis was higher than the environmental temperature. More importantly, significant photosynthesis also occurred at low temperature in these samples, which suggests that the low temperature alone is not responsible for the absence of blue-green algae in Lake Mendota during the spring. Temperature optima for growth and photosynthesis of laboratory cultures of the three dominant blue-green algae in Lake Mendota were determined. The responses of the two parameters to changes in temperature were similar; thus, photosynthesis appears to be a valid index of growth. However, there was little photosynthesis by laboratory cultures at low temperatures, in contrast to the natural samples. Evidence for an interaction between temperature and low light intensities in their effect on photosynthesis of natural samples is presented.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1994

[Blue-green algae as a cause of human disease].

Blue-green algae can cause significant public health problems. There is an abundance of scientific literature on their effects, but much of it either reports laboratory studies of toxicological effects or discusses practical problems affecting water supply. There are many reports of poisonings of farm animals and wildlife, and a number of reports of adverse health effects in humans, but the effects of blue-green algae on human health do not seem to have attracted serious attention amongst practising physicians. It is probable that the occurrence of blue-green algae in algal blooms in the aquatic environment, often with production of toxins, will continue to increase as a result of human activity. It thus seems important that clinicians should become more aware of their effects. On this background the author briefly summarizes proven and potential adverse effects on health.

Cyanobacteria↗

PubMed1980

Purification and characterization of cytochrome f-556.5 from the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis.

The membrane-bound cytochrome f-556.5 from the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis was purified to apparent homogeneity. Most of its properties are comparable to cytochrome f isolated from higher plants and green algae. It is clearly distinguishable from soluble cytochrome c-554, also present in Spirulina, which probably replaces the function of plastocyanin in photosynthetic electron transport. 1. The reduced form of cytochrome f exhibits an asymmetrical alpha-band with a maximum at 556.5 nm, and a pronounced shoulder at 550 nm. The beta-, gamma and delta-bands coincide with those described for Scenedesmus cytochrome f-553, with maxima at 524 (532), 422, 331 and a protein peak at 276 nm. The maximum of ferricytochrome f is at 410.5 nm; there is no indication of a weak 695 nm band, described for soluble c-type cytochromes. The purest preparations had a delta/protein-peak ratio of 0.8; the gamma/alpha ratio was 7.3. Formation of a pyridine hemochromogen with a maximum at 550 nm indicated a c-type cytochrome. The molar extinction coefficient at 556.5 nm is 30200, the differential extinction coefficient 21 500. 2. The molecular weight determined by gel filtration or SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is 33 000 and 34 000, respectively. 3. The redox properties differ from those described for other cytochromes f isolated from green algae and higher plants: the midpoint redox potential is significantly more negative (+318 mV, pH 7.0) and from pH 6 to 10 no pH dependence is observed. 4. The isoelectric point was determined at pH 3.95, which is more acidic as compared to other cytochromes f. 5. Comparison of the amino acid composition indicated a distant relationship to higher plant cytochrome f and a closer relationship to cytochrome f from green algae.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2001

A senescence-associated S-like RNase in the multicellular green alga Volvox carteri.

Asexual individuals of the green alga Volvox carteri consist of only two cell types: somatic and reproductive cells. The somatic cells are terminally differentiated, post-mitotic cells which undergo gradual senescence leading to cell death in every generation. To elucidate the self-degrading process of macromolecules associated with senescence, we attempted to clone an RNase whose mRNA accumulation is increased during senescence. The corresponding cDNA clone VRN1, encoding an S-like RNase of V. carteri, is the first T(2)/S-like RNase to be cloned from green algae. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that a relative amount of VRN1 mRNA is more than three-fold higher in the senescent somatic cells than in young somatic cells when the mRNA of ribosomal protein S18 is used as an internal standard. VRN1 mRNA is not induced by phosphate starvation, indicating that its accumulation during senescence is not due to a self-induced defect in utilizing phosphates. Similar regulation has been reported for RNS3, which encodes the S-like RNase that is induced in senescent leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. These observations imply that VRN1 may promote RNA degradation during senescence of somatic cells in V. carteri, and that its regulation has similarity with that of certain senescence-associated RNases in higher plants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

Hydrogen production by photosynthetic green algae.

Oxygenic photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria, green algae and diatoms are capable of absorbing light and storing up to 10-13% of its energy into the H-H bond of hydrogen gas. This process, which takes advantage of the photosynthetic apparatus of these organisms to convert sunlight into chemical energy, could conceivably be harnessed for production of significant amounts of energy from a renewable resource, water. The harnessed energy could then be coupled to a fuel cell for electricity generation and recycling of water molecules. In this review, current biochemical understanding of this reaction in green algae, and some of the major challenges facing the development of future commercial algal photobiological systems for H2 production have been discussed.

Catalysis↗

PubMed1974

Phycobilisomes in blue-green algae.

Fifteen species of freshwater blue-green algae, including unicellular, filamentous, and colonial forms, were subjected to a variety of fixatives, fixation conditions, and stains for comparison of the preservation of phycobilisomes. Absorption spectra of the corresponding in vivo and released photosynthetic pigments, in 10 of the species that were maintained in culture, demonstrated the presence of phycocyanin in all 10 species and phycoerythrin in only 2 of them. Spectroscope and electron microscope evidence was obtained for localization of phycobiliproteins in phycobilisomes of Nostoc muscorum. Phycobilisomes were observed in all species examined in situ, strenghening the hypothesis that phycobilisomes are common to all phycobiliprotein-containing photosynthetic blue-green algae.

Cell Fractionation↗

PubMed2006

Survival of blue-green and green algae under stress conditions.

Terrestrial blue-green algae Scytonema millei, Phormidium bohneri and Lyngbya mesotricha survived to 100 % at atmospheric temperatures of 5-36 degrees C and relative humidity 55-100 % in rainy, winter and spring seasons but the survival was 15-25 % in summer when atmospheric temperature reached 48 degrees C and relative humidity was < or =23 %. Microcoleus chthonoplastes maximum survival was =80 % in rainy season followed by a decrease to =1/2 and 1/4 level in winter and spring, respectively; it disappeared in summer but a few cells and/or trichomes enclosed within sheath may be surviving sticking to soil, not evident microscopically, since the population reappeared at the same place with the onset of rain. Terrestrial green alga Rhizoclonium crassipellitum survived only in spring and died at the onset of summer without forming any dormant cell and/or reproductive structure. Only P. bohneri survived better and longer under submerged conditions in liquid medium than air-exposed on moist soil surface in the culture chamber, while the other algae fared almost equally or slightly better air-exposed on moist soil surface (or even on 2 % agarized medium) than when suspended in liquid medium, indicating that air exposure rather than submerged conditions was needed for most of the terrestrial algae to survive. Water stress imposed on growing algae either on high-agar-solid media or in 0.2-0.6 mol/L NaCl liquid media in the culture chamber reduced vegetative survival in all; it resulted in death without any dormant cell remaining. When stored in desiccators over fused CaCl2, M. chthonoplastes died within 1/2 month, R. crassipellitum and L. mesotricha within 1 month, P. bohneri within 1/2 month, and S. millei not even within 1 1/2 month, indicating their survival pattern against atmospheric dryness to be wide; it also explained the M. chthonoplastes absence in summer and S. millei presence throughout the year. At increased atmospheric humidity the desiccation-sensitive algae (e.g., M. chthonoplastes) survived better than a desiccation-resistant alga (here S. millei). All algae survived considerable darkness (S. millei > 1 1/2 month; P. bohneri, M. chthonoplastes and R. crassipellitum >1 month, and L. mesotricha >1/2 month), and low light intensity of 2 and 10 micromol m(-2)s(-1) which explains their prolific growth in shady places. All algae were differently sensitive to wet heat (45 degrees C for 5-40 min) and to UV shock (0.96-3.84 kJ/m2).

Chlorophyta↗

PubMed2002

Differential regulation of the Fe-hydrogenase during anaerobic adaptation in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular green alga, contains a hydrogenase enzyme, which is induced by anaerobic adaptation of the cells. Using the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) approach, the differential expression of genes under anaerobiosis was analyzed. A PCR fragment with similarity to the genes of bacterial Fe-hydrogenases was isolated and used to screen an anaerobic cDNA expression library of C. reinhardtii. The cDNA sequence of hydA contains a 1494-bp ORF encoding a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 53.1 kDa. The transcription of the hydrogenase gene is very rapidly induced during anaerobic adaptation of the cells. The deduced amino-acid sequence corresponds to two polypeptide sequences determined by sequence analysis of the isolated native protein. The Fe-hydrogenase contains a short transit peptide of 56 amino acids, which routes the hydrogenase to the chloroplast stroma. The isolated protein belongs to a new class of Fe-hydrogenases. All four cysteine residues and 12 other amino acids, which are strictly conserved in the active site (H-cluster) of Fe-hydrogenases, have been identified. The N-terminus of the C. reinhardtii protein is markedly truncated compared to other non-algal Fe-hydrogenases. Further conserved cysteines that coordinate additional Fe-S-cluster in other Fe-hydrogenases are missing. Ferredoxin PetF, the natural electron donor, links the hydrogenase from C. reinhardtii to the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The hydrogenase enables the survival of the green algae under anaerobic conditions by transferring the electrons from reducing equivalents to the enzyme.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed1978

Extracellular release of organic products and growth of bacteria in Anabaena cylindrica (blue-green alga) culture.

The studies were made with stationary cultures of Anabaena cylindrica (blue-green alga). The bacterial microflora accompanying blue-green algae is subject to succession and elimination in the course of growth. The bacteria are able to utilize organic products released by the blue-green algae. The products released by A. cylindrica to the environment are peptide-like compounds.

Chlorophyll↗

PubMed2005

Isolation and characterization of a xanthophyll-rich fraction from the thylakoid membrane of Dunaliella salina(green algae).

Long-term acclimation to irradiance stress (HL) of the green alga Dunaliella salina Teod. (UTEX 1644) entails substantial accumulation of zeaxanthin along with a lowering in the relative amount of other pigments, including chlorophylls and several carotenoids. This phenomenon was investigated with wild type and the zea1 mutant of D. salina, grown under conditions of low irradiance (LL), or upon acclimation to irradiance stress (HL). In the wild type, the zeaxanthin to chlorophyll (Zea/Chl)(mol : mol) ratio was as low as 0.009 : 1 under LL and as high as 0.8 : 1 under HL conditions. In the zea1 mutant, which constitutively accumulates zeaxanthin and lacks antheraxanthin, violaxanthin and neoxanthin, the Zea/Chl ratio was 0.15 : 1 in LL and 0.57 : 1 in HL. The divergent Zea/Chl ratios were reflected in the coloration of the cells, which were green under LL and yellow under HL. In LL-grown cells, all carotenoids occurred in structural association with the Chl-protein complexes. This was clearly not the case in the HL-acclimated cells. A beta-carotene-rich fraction occurred as loosely bound to the thylakoid membrane and was readily isolated by flotation following mechanical disruption of D. salina. A zeaxanthin-rich fraction was specifically isolated, upon mild surfactant treatment and differential centrifugation, from the thylakoid membrane of either HL wild type or HL-zea1 mutant. Such differential extraction of beta-carotene and Zea, and their separation from the Chl-proteins, could not be obtained from the LL-grown wild type, although small amounts of Zea could still be differentially extracted from the LL-grown zea1 strain. It is concluded that, in LL-grown D. salina, xanthophylls (including most of Zea in the zea1 strain) are structurally associated with and stabilized by the Chl-proteins in the thylakoid membrane. Under HL-growth conditions, however, zeaxanthin appears to be embedded in the lipid bilayer, or in a domain of the chloroplast thylakoids that can easily be separated from the Chl-proteins upon mild surfactant treatment. In conclusion, this work provides biochemical evidence for the domain localization of accumulated zeaxanthin under irradiance-stress conditions in green algae, and establishes protocols for the differential extraction of this high-value pigment from the green alga D. salina.

Chlorophyta↗

PubMed1976

Blue-green algae: their excretion of iron-selective chelators enables them to dominate other algae.

During blue-green algal blooms, other algae can be completely suppressed. This ability of blue-green algae to suppress other algae may be determined by the abailability of iron. Iron deprivation induces the production of hydroxamate chelators, which appear to be the agent suppressing other algae.

Cell Division↗

PubMed1995

Biotransformation of benzo[a]pyrene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic analogs by several green algae and other algal species under gold and white light.

This laboratory has shown that the metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), by a freshwater green alga, Selenastrum capricornutum, under gold light proceeds through a dioxygenase pathway with subsequent conjugation and excretion. This study was undertaken to determine: (1) the effects of different light sources on the enzymatic or photochemical processes involved in the biotransformation of BaP over a dose range of 5-1200 mg/l; (2) the phototoxicity of carcinogenic PAHs and mutagenic quinones to a green alga; (3) the ability of other algal systems to metabolize BaP. Cultures were exposed to different doses of BaP for 2 days at 23 degrees C under gold, white or UV-A fluorescent light on a diurnal cycle of 16 h light, 8 h dark. Under gold light, metabolites of BaP produced by Selenastrum capricornutum were the dihydrodiols of which the 11,12-dihydrodiol was the major metabolite. Under white light, at low doses, the major metabolite was the 9,10-dihydrodiol. With increasing dose, the ratio of dihydrodiols to quinones decreased to less than two. With increasing light energy output, from gold to white to UV-A in the PAH absorbing region, BaP quinone production increased. Of other carcinogenic PAHs studied, only 7H-dibenz[c,g]carbazole was as phototoxic as BaP while 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene, dibenz[a,j]acridine and non-carcinogenic PAHs, anthracene and pyrene, were not phototoxic. The 3,6-quinone of BaP was found to be highly phototoxic while quinones that included menadione, danthron, phenanthrene-quinone and hydroquinone were not. The data suggest that the phototoxicity of BaP is due to photochemical production of quinones; the 3,6-quinone of BaP is phototoxic and is probably the result of the production of short lived cyclic reactive intermediates by the interaction of light with the quinone. Lastly, only the green algae, Selenastrum capricornutum, Scenedesmus acutus and Ankistrodesmus braunii almost completely metabolized BaP to dihydrodiols. The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the yellow alga Ochromonas malhamensis, the blue green algae Anabaena flosaquae and euglenoid Euglena gracilis did not metabolize BaP to any extent. The data indicate that algae are important in their ability to degrade PAHs but the degradation is dependent on the dose of light energy emitted and absorbed, the dose of PAHs to which the algae are exposed, the phototoxicity of PAHs and their metabolite(s) and the species and strain of algae involved. All of these factors will be important in assessing the degradation and detoxification pathways of recalcitrant PAHs by algae.

Anabaena↗

PubMed1999

Mesostigmatophyceae, a new class of streptophyte green algae revealed by SSU rRNA sequence comparisons.

Complete nuclear-encoded SSU rRNA sequences have been obtained from three taxa of streptophyte green algae (Klebsormidium nitens, Nitella capillaris, Chaetosphaeridium globosum) and two strains of the scaly green flagellate Mesostigma viride. Phylogenetic analyses of 70 taxa of Viridiplantae (Chlorophyta and Streptophyta) and 57 taxa of streptophyte green algae and embryophyte plants using distance, parsimony and likelihood methods revealed a novel monophyletic lineage among the Streptophyta comprising the genera Mesostigma and Chaetosphaeridium. This lineage is described here as the Mesostigmatophyceae classis nova. Our analyses demonstrate that (1) scaly green flagellates (prasinophytes) are polyphyletic, (2) a scaly green flagellate is a member of the Streptophyta and forms a clade with the oogamous, filamentous Chaetosphaeridium to the exclusion of all other known streptophyte green algae, (3) a previously published SSU rRNA sequence of Chaetosphaeridium (AF113506) is chimeric and contains part of a fungal SSU rRNA, and (4) the phylogenetic relationships between the Mesostigmatophyceae and other streptophyte green algae remain unresolved by SSU rRNA sequence comparisons.

Chlorophyta↗