Skip to main content
PMC home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1977 May;59(5):936–940. doi: 10.1104/pp.59.5.936

Photosynthesis and Photorespiration in Algae 1

Nigel D H Lloyd a,2, David T Canvin a, David A Culver a,3
PMCID: PMC543328  PMID: 16659972

Abstract

The CO2 exchange of several species of fresh water and marine algae was measured in the laboratory to determine whether photorespiration occurs in these organisms. The algae were positioned as thin layers on filter paper and the CO2 exchange determined in an open gas exchange system. In either 21 or 1% O2 there was little difference between 14CO2 and 12CO2 uptake. Apparent photosynthesis was the same in 2, 21, or 50% O2. The compensation points of all algae were less than 10 μl 1−1. CO2 or 14CO2 evolution into CO2-free air in the light was always less than the corresponding evolution in darkness. These observations are inconsistent with the proposal that photorespiration exists in these algae.

Full text

PDF
936

Selected References

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

  1. Bunt J. S., Heeb M. A. Consumption of O-2 in the light by Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1971 Mar 2;226(2):354–359. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(71)90102-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Colman B., Miller A. G., Grodzinski B. A study of the control of glycolate excretion in chlorella. Plant Physiol. 1974 Mar;53(3):395–397. doi: 10.1104/pp.53.3.395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Coombs J., Baldry C. W. CO2 assimilation by chloroplasts illuminated on filter paper. Nature. 1970 Dec 26;228(5278):1349–1350. doi: 10.1038/2281349b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HUGHES E. O., GORHAM P. R., ZEHNDER A. Toxicity of a unialgal culture of Microcystis aeruginosa. Can J Microbiol. 1958 Jun;4(3):225–236. doi: 10.1139/m58-024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Lex M., Silvester W. B., Stewart W. D. Photorespiration and nitrogenase activity in the blue-green alga, Anabaena cylindrica. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1972 Jan 18;180(1058):87–102. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1972.0007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Ludwig L. J., Canvin D. T. The Rate of Photorespiration during Photosynthesis and the Relationship of the Substrate of Light Respiration to the Products of Photosynthesis in Sunflower Leaves. Plant Physiol. 1971 Dec;48(6):712–719. doi: 10.1104/pp.48.6.712. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Nelson E. B., Tolbert N. E. The regulation of glycolate metabolism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1969 Jul 30;184(2):263–270. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(69)90028-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Radmer R. J., Kok B. Photoreduction of O(2) Primes and Replaces CO(2) Assimilation. Plant Physiol. 1976 Sep;58(3):336–340. doi: 10.1104/pp.58.3.336. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. TURNER J. S., BRITTAIN E. G. Oxygen as a factor in photosynthesis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 1962 Feb;37:130–170. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.1962.tb01607.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. WHITTINGHAM C. P. Rate of photosynthesis and concentration of carbon dioxide in Chlorella. Nature. 1952 Dec 13;170(4337):1017–1018. doi: 10.1038/1701017b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES