Abstract
Isolated intact eyespot apparatuses, the photoreceptive organelles involved in blue-light-mediated photoresponses of flagellate green algae, were analyzed regarding their carotenoid composition. Carotenoids from the eyespot apparatuses of Spermatozopsis similis were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography, visible-light absorption spectra, mass spectroscopy and by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (carotenes), and compared with those of whole-cell extracts. Both extracts contained β,β-carotene, β,ψ-carotene (formerly γ-carotene), lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin and all-E-and 9′-Z-neoxanthin. The relative carotenoid compositions, however, differed significantly. A twofold relative increase in the total carotene level was evident in the fraction enriched in eyespot apparatuses. This was mainly due to an increase in the monocyclic β,ψ-carotene and the aliphatic lycopene, whereas the relative content of β,β-carotene remained unchanged. On the other hand a relative decrease in the total xanthophyll content, especially of lutein and the epoxidic carotenoid neoxanthin, was observed in the eyespot apparatuses compared with the whole-cell extracts. The decrease of the latter resulted almost solely from a reduction of the 9′-Z-rather than the all-E-isomer. The bulk of the carotenes is thought to be localized in the highly organized eyespot lipid globules, which act as a combined quarter-wave interference reflector and absorption screen for the photoreceptor in green algae. The enrichment of β,ψ-carotene and lycopene in the eyespot apparatuses, extending the range of visible light absorption to longer wavelengths, represents an adaptation of the screen to the retinal-based photoreceptor of flagellate green algae and is one of the prerequisites for maximal directional sensitivity of the eyespot apparatus.
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Abbreviations
- 1H-NMR:
-
nuclear magnetic resonance
- IUPAC:
-
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
- VIS:
-
visible absorption spectra
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This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (G.K. and M.M.). M.G. was supported by a fellowship from the Norwegian Research Council of Science and Humanities.
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Grung, M., Kreimer, G., Calenberg, M. et al. Carotenoids in the eyespot apparatus of the flagellate green alga Spermatozopsis similis: Adaptation to the retinal-based photoreceptor. Planta 193, 38–43 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00191604
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00191604