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. 1985 Nov;79(3):833–837. doi: 10.1104/pp.79.3.833

Varying Photoperiod, Ribulose 1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase and CO2 Uptake in Thalassiosira fluviatilis (Bacillariophyceae) 1

Louis A Hobson 1, W James Morris 1,2, Kathryn P Guest 1
PMCID: PMC1074979  PMID: 16664500

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to test the hypothesis that acclimation of the unicellular marine alga, Thalassiosira fluviatilis Hustedt, to short photoperiods results in decreased cellular concentrations of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and decreased rates of light-saturated CO2 uptake. Cells were acclimated to photoperiods of 6:18, 12:12, and 18:6 h:h light:dark, and concentrations of the large subunit of the enzyme and responses of CO2 uptake to varying irradiance were measured. Concentrations of the large subunit, which weighed approximately 50 kilodaltons, were conserved while rates of CO2 uptake under light saturation and limitation, and cellular contents of chlorophyll a increased as photoperiod decreased. Apparently, these cells acclimate to short photoperiods by increasing rates of CO2 uptake under saturating irradiances by increasing in vivo activation of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase. Also, chlorophyll-specific concentrations and specific activities of the enzyme appear to be lower and higher, respectively, in diatomaceous algae than in higher plants.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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