Abstract
Photosynthesis in a Phormidium species which forms dense conical-shaped structures in thermal springs is strongly inhibited by aeration but is stimulated by sulfide and other agents (cysteine, thioglycolate, sulfite) which lower the oxidation-reduction potential. The compact structures which this alga forms in nature may restrict oxygen penetration from the environment so that the anaerobic or microaerophilic conditions necessary for photosynthesis can develop. The alga may be defective in a regulatory mechanism that controls the reoxidation of reduced pyridine nucleotides formed during photosynthesis. It is suggested that other mat-forming and benthic blue-green algae may also prefer anaerobic conditions for growth and photosynthesis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bauld, J.: Algal-bacterial interactions in alkaline hot spring effluents. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin (1973)
Bauld, J., Brock, T. D.: Ecological studies of Chloroflexus, a gliding photosynthetic bacterium. Arch. Mikrobiol. 92, 267–284 (1973)
Bjorkman, O.: Comparative photosynthetic CO2 exchange in higher plants. In: Photosynthesis and photorespiration, M. D. Hatch, C. B. Osmond, R. O. Slayter, eds. New York: Wiley 1971
Bloomfield, C.: Sulphate reduction in waterlogged soils. J. Soil Sci. 20, 207–221 (1969)
Brock, T. D.: Vertical zonation in hot spring algal mats. Phycologia 8, 201–205 (1969)
Brock, T. D.: Evolutionary and ecological aspects of the cyanophytes. In: The biology of blue-green algae, N. G. Carr, B. A. Whitton, eds, pp. 487–500, plus references pp. 540–655. Oxford: Blackwell 1973
Brock, T. D., Brock, M. L.: The measurement of cholorophyll, primary productivity, photophosphorylation, and macromolecules in benthic algal mats. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12, 600–605 (1967)
Brock, T. D., Brock, M. L.: Effect of light intensity on photosynthesis by thermal algae adapted to natural and reduced sunlight. Limnol. Oceanogr. 14, 334–351 (1969)
Brock, T. D., Brock, M. L., Bott, T. L., Edwards, M. R.: Microbial life at 90 C: the sulfur bacteria of Boulder Spring. J. Bact. 107, 303–314 (1971)
Castenholz, R. W.: Thermophilic blue-green algae and the thermal environment. Bact. Rev. 33, 476–504 (1969)
Castenholz, R. W.: The possible photosynthetic use of sulfide by the filamentous phototrophic bacteria of hot springs. Limnol. Oceanogr. 18, 863–876 (1973)
Lorimer, G. H., Andrews, T. J.: Plant photorespiration—an inevitable consequence of the existence of atmospheric oxygen. Nature (Lond.) 243, 359–360 (1973)
Pachmayr, F.: Vorkommen und Bestimmung von Schwefelverbindungen im Mineralwasser. Ph. D. Thesis, Universität Müchen (1960)
Stanier, R. Y., Kunisawa, R., Mandel, M., Cohen-Bazire, G.: Purification and properties of unicellular blue-green algae (order Chroococcales). Bact. Rev. 37, 171–205 (1971)
Stewart, W. D. P., Pearson, H. W.: Effects of aerobic and anaerobic conditions on growth and metabolism of blue-green algae. Proc. roy. Soc. B 175, 293–311 (1970)
Walter, M. R., Bauld, J., Brock, T. D.: Siliceous algal and bacterial stromatolites in hot spring and geyser effluents of Yellowstone National Park. Science 178, 402–405 (1972)
Walter, M. R., Bauld, J., Brock, T. D.: Microbiology and morphogenesis of columnar stromatolites (Conophyton, Vacerrilla) from hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. In: Interpreting stromatolites, M. R. Walter, ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier (in press)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Weller, D., Doemel, W. & Brock, T.D. Requirement of low oxidation-reduction potential for photosynthesis in a blue-green alga (Phormidium sp.). Arch. Microbiol. 104, 7–13 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00447293
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00447293