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Photosynthetic utilization of CO2(aq) and HCO -3 in Thalassia testudinum (Hydrocharitaceae)

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Abstract

The effects of total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), free carbon dioxide [CO2(aq)], and bicarbonate (HCO -3 ) concentrations on net photosynthetic oxygen evolution of the marine angiosperm Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König collected from Biscayne Bay (1988) and from Tampa Bay (1990), Florida, USA, were examined. Rates of photosynthesis declined by 85% from pH 7.25 to 8.75 in buffered seawater media with constant DIC concentration (2.20 mM), suggesting a strong influence of CO2(aq) concentration. A plateau in the pH-response curve between pH 7.75 and 8.50 indicated possible utilization of HCO -3 . Responses of photosynthesis measured in buffered seawater media of varying DIC concentrations (0.75 to 13.17 mM) and pH (7.8 to 8.61) demonstrated that photosynthesis is rate-limited at ambient DIC levels. Photosynthesis increased in media with increasing HCO -3 concentrations but near-constant CO2(aq) levels, confirming HCO -3 assimilation. Calculated half-saturation constants (K s )for CO2(aq) and HCO -3 indicated a high affinity for the former [K s (CO2)=3 to 18 μM] and a much lower affinity for the latter [K s (HCO -3 )=1.22 to 8.88 mM]. Calculated V max values for HCO -3 were generally higher than those for CO2(aq), suggesting relatively efficient HCO -3 utilization, despite the apparent low affinity for this carbon form.

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  1. Division of Marine Resources, Florida Marine Research Institute, 100 Eighth Avenue S.E., 33701-5095, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

    M. J. Durako

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  1. M. J. Durako
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Communicated by J. M. Lawrence, Tampa

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Durako, M.J. Photosynthetic utilization of CO2(aq) and HCO -3 in Thalassia testudinum (Hydrocharitaceae). Marine Biology 115, 373–380 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349834

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349834

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