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Inorganic-carbon uptake by the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

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Abstract

Air-grown cells of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum showed only 10% of the carbonic-anhydrase activity of air-grown Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Measurement of carbonic-anhydrase activity using intact cells and cell extracts showed all activity was intracellular in Phaeodactylum. Photosynthetic oxygen evolution at constant inorganic-carbon concentration but varying pH showed that exogenous CO2 was poorly utilized by the cells. Sodium ions increased the affinity of Phaeodactylum for HCO -3 and even at high HCO -3 concentrations sodium ions enhanced HCO -3 utilization. The internal inorganic-carbon pool (HCO -3 +CO2] was measured using a silicone-oil-layer centrifugal filtering technique. The internal [HCO -3 +CO2] concentration never exceeded 15% of the external [HCO -3 +CO2] concentration even at the lowest external concentrations tested. It is concluded that an internal accumulation of inorganic carbon relative to the external medium does not occur in P. tricornutum.

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Abbreviations

Hepes:

4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethane-sulfonic acid

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant and Microbial Metabolism Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University College of Swansea, Singleton Park, SA2 8PP, Swansea, UK

    B. N. Patel & M. J. Merrett

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  1. B. N. Patel
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  2. M. J. Merrett
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Patel, B.N., Merrett, M.J. Inorganic-carbon uptake by the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum . Planta 169, 222–227 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00392318

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