PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND METABOLISM OF MARINE ALGAE: I. PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF TWO MARINE FLAGELLATES COMPARED WITH CHLORELLA

Abstract

The products of photosynthesis of two marine flagellates have been examined and compared with those of Chlorella pyrenoidosa with the use of radioactive carbon and chromatographic techniques. The alcohol-soluble products were different in each alga, many of the compounds produced by the marine forms being unidentified. The principal soluble product of photosynthesis of a member of the Heterokontae, Olisthodiscus sp., was identified as d-mannitol. Those of a dinoflagellate, Amphidinium carteri, include glycosides of glucose and maunitol. The main insoluble carbohydrate produced by all three organisms gave rise to glucose on hydrolysis; this only contained about ten per cent of the total fixed carbon. The radioactive compounds released from the alcohol-insoluble residues by acid hydrolysis were similar in the three algae and consisted mainly of amino acids.