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PubMed1970

Characteristics of a stable, filamentous mutant of a coccoid blue-green alga.

Filamentous mutants were induced in a coccoid blue-green alga, Agmenellum quadruplicatum strain BG1, after treatment with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG). The mutants fall into two general classes: filaments with cross walls and filaments without cross walls. All mutants of these general types derived from BG1 are stable and have growth rates the same as or very similar to the wild type under a variety of conditions. Detailed examination of one mutant, 53SB2, revealed no difference in deoxyribonucleic acid content nor in base ratios. Mutant 53SB2 did not revert to the normal cell size and shape when grown under different physical conditions nor upon the addition of potential reversing agents to the basal medium. It is our general experience that filamentous mutants such as those described here in BG1 are commonly induced in other coccoid blue-green algae after NTG treatment.

Cell Nucleus↗

PubMed1971

Endogenous dark respiration of the blue-green alga, Plectonema boryanum.

Endogenous dark respiration in the blue-green alga Plectonema boryanum is markedly affected by preincubation in the light: it can be increased from a basal rate of 5 nmoles of O(2) to 55 nmoles of O(2) per mg of cell protein per min after exposure of the cells to light for 8 to 10 hr. Under conditions of enhanced dark respiration, cyanophage multiplication in the dark increases drastically and approaches the cyanophage yields obtained in photosynthesizing Plectonema cells. This implies that the biosynthetic capabilities of the algal cells, at least with respect to viral synthesis, can be similar in the dark to those in the light. The enhanced endogenous respiration rate was found to be dependent on photoassimilation of CO(2) and on protein synthesis. The implications of these findings with respect to obligate photoautotrophic metabolism in blue-green algae are discussed.

Carbon Dioxide↗

PubMed1983

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Chemotaxis Associated with Blooms of N(2)-Fixing Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria).

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schroeter) Migula, a numerically significant bacterium found during N(2)-fixing blooms of the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) Anabaena sp. in the Chowan River, North Carolina, was chemotactically attracted to amino acids when tested in a radioassay. The bacterium was labeled with P(i), and the disintegrations per minute determined by liquid scintillation counting were proportional to the number of cells accumulating in microcapillaries containing amino acids. Positive chemotaxis was observed toward all of the amino acids tested, although the degrees of response varied. Since many nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae secrete nitrogenous compounds, this attraction may be instrumental in establishing a symbiotic relationship between this bacterium and blue-green algae in freshwater.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1978

The blue-green algae in nuclear power plant cooling water.

A study was undertaken to determine the effects of passage through the cooling system of the Zion Nuclear Plant, Illinois, U.S.A., on the blue-green algae present in lake water. The blue-green algae were isolated by means of membrane filtration, enumerated and identified to genera. As a result of cooling system passage there was a definite reduction in the numbers of blue-green algae. This reduction appeared to be due to mechanical, as well as elevated temperature, damage. A few genera showed only a slight change in number.

Cyanobacteria↗

PubMed1994

Antimutagenic properties of fresh-water blue-green algae.

The antimutagenic properties of whole fresh-water blue-green algae Aphanisomenon flos-aquae, marketed under the commercial name "Alpha Sun" were tested using the Ames test. Simultaneous addition of both algae and Nitrovin (a mutagen) to the test medium did not reduce the mutagenic activity. On the other hand, addition of freeze-dried blue-green algae to the test medium 2-24 h before the application of mutagen reduced its mutagenic activity.

Antimutagenic Agents↗

PubMed1998

Blue-green algae toxicosis in cattle.

Twenty-four of 175 heifers died after ingesting water from a stock pond containing blue-green algae (genus Microcystis) in southern Colorado. Affected cattle were found dead or had signs of nervousness, and were recumbent, weak, anorectic, and hypersensitive to noise when first examined. All cattle died within 3 days after the onset of signs. At necropsy, the rumen contained blue-green algae, and the liver was larger than normal, friable, and dark red. The most important histologic lesion was hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis. Intraperitoneal administration of lyophilized cell material from the bloom caused hepatic necrosis and death in mice, and water from the pond had clumps of cells surrounded by a clear calyx, consistent with the appearance of organisms of the genus Microcystis. Samples of pond water were examined by means of high-pressure liquid chromatography; microcystin-LR, one of the hepatotoxins produced by Microcystis spp, was found. Chromatography may be useful in the diagnosis of blue-green algae toxicosis.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

The xanthophyll cycle in green algae (chlorophyta): its role in the photosynthetic apparatus.

Light-dependent conversion of violaxanthin to zeaxanthin, the so-called xanthophyll cycle, was shown to serve as a major, short-term light acclimation mechanism in higher plants. The role of xanthophylls in thermal dissipation of surplus excitation energy was deduced from the linear relationship between zeaxanthin formation and the magnitude of non-photochemical quenching. Unlike in higher plants, the role of the xanthophyll cycle in green algae (Chlorophyta) is ambiguous, since its contribution to energy dissipation can significantly vary among species. Here, we have studied the role of the xanthophyll cycle in the adaptation of several species of green algae (Chlorella, Scenedesmus, Haematococcus, Chlorococcum, Spongiochloris) to high irradiance. The xanthophyll cycle has been found functional in all tested organisms; however its contribution to non-photochemical quenching is not as significant as in higher plants. This conclusion is supported by three facts: (i) in green algae the content of zeaxanthin normalized per chlorophyll was significantly lower than that reported from higher plants, (ii) antheraxanthin + zeaxanthin content displayed different diel kinetics from NPQ and (iii) in green algae there was no such linear relationship between NPQ and Ax + Zx, as found in higher plants. We assume that microalgae rely on other dissipation mechanism(s), which operate along with xanthophyll cycle-dependent quenching.

Acclimatization↗

PubMed1974

Ultrastructure of mitosis and cytokinesis in the multinucleate green alga Acrosiphonia.

The processes of mitosis and cytokinesis in the multinucleate green alga Acrosiphonia have been examined in the light and electron microscopes. The course of events in division includes thickening of the chloroplast and migration of numerous nuclei and other cytoplasmic incusions to form a band in which mitosis occurs, while other nuclei in the same cell but not in the band do not divide. Centrioles and microtubules are associated with migrated and dividing nuclei but not with nonmigrated, nondividing nuclei. Cytokinesis is accomplished in the region of the band, by means of an annular furrow which is preceded by a hoop of microtubules. No other microtubules are associated with the furrow. Characteristics of nuclear and cell division in Acrosiphonia are compared with those of other multinucleate cells and with those of other green algae.

Cell Division↗

PubMed1972

Homology between nucleic acids of blue-green algae and chloroplasts of Euglena gracilis.

Ribosomal RNA from several blue-green algae was hybridized to DNA from Euglena gracilis chloroplasts by the membrane filter procedure. This hydridization was competitive with chloroplast ribosomal RNA and indicates significant genetic homology between blue-green algae and plastids from Euglena gracilis.

Adenine↗

PubMed2000

Light-harvesting complex II pigments and proteins in association with Cbr, a homolog of higher-plant early light-inducible proteins in the unicellular green alga Dunaliella.

Like higher plants, unicellular green algae of the genus Dunaliella respond to light stress by enhanced de-epoxidation of violaxanthin and accumulation of Cbr, a protein homologous to early light-inducible proteins (Elips) in plants. Earlier studies indicated that Cbr was associated with the light-harvesting complex of photosystem II (LHCII) and suggested it acted as a zeaxanthin-binding protein and fulfilled a photo-protective function (Levy et al. 1993, J. Biol. Chem. 268: 20892-20896). To characterize the protein-pigment subcomplexes containing Cbr in greater detail than attained so far, thylakoid membranes from Dunaliella salina grown in high light or normal light were solubilized with dodecyl maltoside and fractionated by isoelectric-focusing. Analysis of the resolved LHCII subcomplexes indicated preferred associations among the four LHCIIb polypeptides and between them and Cbr: subcomplexes including Cbr contained one or two of the more acidic of the four LHCIIb polypeptides as well as large amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin relative to chlorophyll a/b. After sucrose gradient centrifugation, Cbr free of LHCIIb polypeptides was detected together with released pigments; this Cbr possibly originated in subcomplexes dissociated in the course of the analysis. These results agree with the conclusion that Cbr is part of the network of LHCIIb protein-pigment complexes and suggest that the role played by Cbr involves the organization and/or stabilization of assemblies highly enriched in zeaxanthin and lutein. Such assemblies may function to protect PSII from photodamage due to overexcitation.

Centrifugation, Density Gradient↗

PubMed2003

The role of GlsA in the evolution of asymmetric cell division in the green alga Volvox carteri.

Volvox carteri, a green alga in the order Volvocales, contains two completely differentiated cell types, small motile somatic cells and large reproductive cells called gonidia, that are set apart from each other during embryogenesis by a series of visibly asymmetric cell divisions. Mutational analysis has revealed a class of genes (gonidialess, gls) that are required specifically for asymmetric divisions in V. carteri, but that are dispensable for symmetric divisions. Previously we cloned one of these genes, glsA, and showed that it encodes a chaperone-like protein (GlsA) that has close orthologs in a diverse set of eukaryotes, ranging from fungi to vertebrates and higher plants. In the present study we set out to explore the role of glsA in the evolution of asymmetric division in the volvocine algae by cloning and characterizing a glsA ortholog from one of the simplest members of the group, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which does not undergo asymmetric divisions. This ortholog (which we have named gar1, for glsA related) is predicted to encode a protein that is 70% identical to GlsA overall, and that is most closely related to GlsA in the same domains that are most highly conserved between GlsA and its other known orthologs. We report that a gar1 transgene fully complements the glsA mutation in V. carteri, a result that suggests that asymmetric division probably arose through the modification of a gene whose product interacts with GlsA, but not through a modification of glsA itself.

Algal Proteins↗

PubMed1985

Blue-green algae poisoning.

Poisoning by blue-green algae occurs after an algal "bloom" caused by warm weather and algal concentration. On death or disintegration, the algae release liver toxins and neurotoxins (fast death factor). Although deaths are common in animal exposures, human exposures have been limited to various allergic reactions, mild liver enzyme elevation, and gastroenteritis. A case of animal deaths and its relationship to human exposures is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Signal transduction during fertilization in the unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas.

Sexual reproduction in the green alga, Chlamydomonas, is regulated by environmental conditions and by cell-cell interactions. After gametogenesis, flagellar adhesion between gametes triggers gamete activation, leading to cell fusion and zygote formation. Recent studies have identified new molecular events that underlie signal transduction during Chlamydomonas fertilization, including expression of a sex-determining protein, phosphorylation of a homeodomain protein, activity of a kinesin II and regulated translocation of an aurora/Ip11-like protein kinase from the cell body to the flagella.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

The involvement of a multicopper oxidase in iron uptake by the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

In the unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, high-affinity uptake of iron (Fe) requires an Fe(3+)-chelate reductase and an Fe transporter. Neither of these proteins nor their corresponding genes have been isolated. We previously identified, by analysis of differentially expressed plasma membrane proteins, an approximately 150-kD protein whose synthesis was induced under conditions of Fe-deficient growth. Based on homology of internal peptide sequences to the multicopper oxidase hephaestin, this protein was proposed to be a ferroxidase. A nucleotide sequence to the full-length cDNA clone for this ferroxidase-like protein has been obtained. Analysis of the primary amino acid sequence revealed a putative transmembrane domain near the amino terminus of the protein and signature sequences for two multicopper oxidase I motifs and one multicopper oxidase II motif. The ferroxidase-like gene was transcribed under conditions of Fe deficiency. Consistent with the role of a copper (Cu)-containing protein in Fe homeostasis, growth of cells in Cu-depleted media eliminated high-affinity Fe uptake, and Cu-deficient cells that were grown in optimal Fe showed greatly reduced Fe accumulation compared with control, Cu-sufficient cells. Reapplication of Cu resulted in the recovery of Fe transport activity. Together, these results were consistent with the participation of a ferroxidase in high-affinity Fe uptake in C. reinhardtii.

Algal Proteins↗

PubMed1980

Thermotropic Properties of Thermophilic, Mesophilic, and Psychrophilic Blue-green Algae.

Thermotropic properties of blue-green algae grown at high, room, and low temperatures in H(2)O and D(2)O media were studied by highly sensitive differential scanning microcalorimetry. The thermograms of these organisms contain an endothermal peak in the temperature range of 50 to 70 C with an endothermal heat ranging from 0.14 to 1.91 joules per gram organism. The temperature at which the endothermal peak occurs is comparable with the thermal denaturation temperature of phycocyanin, the major biliprotein isolated from these algae. A good correlation can be found for the relative thermal stability of various organisms with that of the isolated biliproteins. The ability of these algae to resist thermal disruption is correlated with the thermal environments in which these algal cells grow. The thermal stability of normal algae is in the order of thermophile > mesophile > psychrophile. It was found that the deuterated mesophilic algae were less able to resist thermal disruption than ordinary mesophilic algae.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1968

Recombination of nonchromosomal mutations: a 3-point cross in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi.

The heterothallic, unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardi possesses both chromosomal and nonchromosomal systems of inheritance. Mutations belonging to the latter system are capable of recombination. The experiments reported show that double and triple recombinants can be obtained from crosses employing three phenotypically distinct mutations and that certain pairs of mutants recombine more freely than others.

Crosses, Genetic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evidence for nickel in the soluble hydrogenase from the unicellular green alga Scenedesmus obliquus.

Cultures of the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus were grown in the presence of either the chelating reagent EDTA or NiCl2 in various concentrations and assayed for hydrogenase catalyzed photohydrogen evolution after an anaerobic dark adaptation period. Cultivation of algae in the presence of 100 microM EDTA inhibited the formation of hydrogenase activity by 37%. After a cultivation of the cells in the presence of 5-20 microM NiCl2 photohydrogen evolution was increased by 20-40%. Addition of EDTA up to a final concentration of 1.5 mM had no effect on the activity of hydrogenase in cell-free hydrogenase preparations. Cultures grown in the presence of radioactive 63NiCl2 incorporated 63Ni in a parallel fashion to the cell growth. In radioactive labeled hydrogenase preparations a co-elution of radioactivity and hydrogenase activity could be observed using gel filtration chromatography.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of substituted pyridazinone herbicides and of difunone (EMD-IT 5914) on carotenoid biosynthesis in green algae.

The carotenoid biosynthesis of the green alga Ankistrodesmus braunii is blocked if these cells are cultured in presence of sublethal doses of pyridazinone herbicides (San 9789, San 6706, BASF 44521) or of the herbicide difunone (EMD-IT 5914). The amount of colored carotenoids normally found in these algae is reduced drastically and the precursors phytoene and phytofluene are accumulated. Furthermore a decrease in the chlorophyll level occurs in the treated cells, but there is a stronger loss of chlorophyll a, resulting in a lowering of the chlorophyll a/b ratio with time. Concerning the activity of substituted pyridazinones leading to inhibition of carotenoid biosynthesis this effect can be related to the chemical structure of these compounds: a trifluormethyl substitution of the phenyl ring and a mono- or dimethyl substitution of the amine (San 9789, San 6706) or a methoxy group instead of the substituted amine (BASF 44521) are required both for this effect. Other pyridazinone derivatives with either a trifluoromethyl substitition of the phenyl ring (San 9774) or a dimethyl subsittution of the amine (San 9785) or a methoxy group (BASF 13761) are without any effect on the pigment pattern of these algae.

Carotenoids↗