Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1978 Jul;62(1):36–39. doi: 10.1104/pp.62.1.36

Isolation and Characterization of Carotenoid-rich Lipid Globules from Peridinium foliaceum 1

Nancy W Withers 1, Francis T Haxo 1
PMCID: PMC1092050  PMID: 16660464

Abstract

Carotenoid-rich oil globules were isolated from the cytoplasm of the binucleate dinoflagellate, Peridinium foliaceum. These orange globules were collected from ruptured cells by ultracentrifugation on a sucrose density gradient, and checked for purity by electron microscopy. The osmiophilic globules were assayed for lipid (including pigment) and protein content. The lipid to protein ratio was 1.39:1, with a calculated density of the globules of 1.05 grams per cubic centimeter. The lipids were composed of hydrocarbon, wax ester (phytyl ester), triglyceride, and polar (no phospholipid) fractions. The biochemical composition indicated that the globules function as a reservoir of energy-rich components in the cell. Microspectrophotometric observations were consistent with pigment analyses which demonstrated that the globules were carotenoid-rich. In addition to β-carotene, γ-carotene, and canthaxanthin, the carotenogenic precursors: phytoene, phytofluence, ζ-carotene and β-zeacarotene were isolated from the globules. Corrected fluorescence maxima of phytoene and phytofluene in hexane were recorded at 340 and 490 nanometers, respectively. Carotenes constituted 3.3% of the total oil globule lipid. The possibility of an extraplastidic carotenogenic enzyme system in P. foliaceum is discussed.

Full text

PDF
36

Selected References

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

  1. Bartlett C. J., Walne P. L., Schwarz O. J., Brown D. H. Large Scale Isolation and Purification of Eyespot Granules from Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris. Plant Physiol. 1972 Jun;49(6):881–885. doi: 10.1104/pp.49.6.881. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. DROOP M. R. Conditions governing haematochrome formation and loss in the alga Haematocuccus pluvialis Flotow. Arch Mikrobiol. 1954;20(4):391–397. doi: 10.1007/BF00690882. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Davenport D., Culler G. J., Greaves J. O., Forward R. B., Hand W. G. The investigation of the behavior of microorganisms by computerized television. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 1970 Jul;17(3):230–237. doi: 10.1109/tbme.1970.4502737. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dodge J. D. A dinoflagellate with both a mesocaryotic and a eucaryotic nucleus. I. Fine structure of the nuclei. Protoplasma. 1971;73(2):145–157. doi: 10.1007/BF01275591. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dodge J. D., Crawford R. M. Observations on the fine structure of the eyespot and associated organelles in the dinoflagellate glenodinium foliaceum. J Cell Sci. 1969 Sep;5(2):479–493. doi: 10.1242/jcs.5.2.479. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hilenski L. L., Walne P. L., Snyder F. Aliphatic Chains of Esterified Lipids in Isolated Eyespots of Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris. Plant Physiol. 1976 Apr;57(4):645–646. doi: 10.1104/pp.57.4.645. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. PLOTZ P. H., DAVIS B. D. Absence of a chloramphenicol-insensitive phase of streptomycin action. J Bacteriol. 1962 Apr;83:802–805. doi: 10.1128/jb.83.4.802-805.1962. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Parsons J. G., Patton S. Two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography of polar lipids from milk and mammary tissue. J Lipid Res. 1967 Nov;8(6):696–698. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES