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Inorganic carbon uptake by an Antarctic sea-ice diatom,Nitzschia frigida

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Abstract

There have been no studies to date on the mechanisms of inorganic carbon acquisition by Antarctic microalgae. Consequently, we have examined inorganic carbon (DIC) use inNitzschia frigida, a diatom typical of the Antarctic bottom-ice community. The K0.5(CO2) of photosynthesis in this organism was estimated to be 1.09 µM at pH 7.5. The internal concentration of DIC was approximately 4050 µM at an external [DIC] of 45 µM. At air-equilibration levels of inorganic carbon this would be sufficient for a ten-fold accumulation ratio of CO2. Cells ofN. frigida are capable of carbon-dependent photosynthesis at rates that exceed that expected from uncatalysed CO2 supply to the cell. About 25% of the total carbonic anhydrase activity appears to be associated with the cell surface inN. frigida. These results support the hypothesis thatN. frigida, like many microalgae from temperate waters, has an active carbon-concentrating mechanism, associated with the ability to utilize external HCO −3 for photosynthesis.

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  1. C. Mitchell

    Present address: CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research, Private Bag #1, 3195, Mordialloc, Victoria, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Botany, University of Melbourne, 3001, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    C. Mitchell

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Monash University, 3168, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    J. Beardall

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  1. C. Mitchell
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  2. J. Beardall
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Mitchell, C., Beardall, J. Inorganic carbon uptake by an Antarctic sea-ice diatom,Nitzschia frigida . Polar Biol 16, 95–99 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02390429

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