Abstract
The unicellular cyanobacterium Microcystis furma tolerates salinity by accumulating the osmoprotective compound glucosylglycerol. After salt shock, the initial rate of glucosylglycerol synthesis is independent of the NaCl concentration used. In pulse chase experiments with NaH14CO3, synthesis of glucosylglycerol by salt-adapted cells was found to be rapid, whereas no sign of its breakdown was detected. Therefore, it is concluded that no turnover of glucosylglycerol takes place in salt-adapted cells. The specific capacity of the glucosylglycerol-forming enzyme system may be one reason for the salt resistance limit.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- GG:
-
glucosylglycerol
References
Blumwald E, Mehlhorn RJ, Packer L (1983) Ionic osmoregulation during salt adaptation of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6311. Plant Physiol 73:377–380
Borowitzka LJ, Demmerle S, Mackay MA, Morton RS (1980) Carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance study of osmoregulation in a blue-green alga. Science 210:650–651
Erdmann N (1983) Organic osmoregulatory solutes in blue-green algae. Z Pflanzenphysiol 110:147–155
Feige GB, Gimmler H, Jeschke WD, Simonis W (1969) Eine Methode zur dünnschichtchromatographischen Auftrennung von 14C- und 32P-markierten Stoffwechselprodukten. J Chromatogr 41:80–90
Fogg GE, Stewart WDP, Fay P, Walsby AE (1973) The blue-green algae. Academic Press, London New York, pp 161–179
Hellebust JA (1985) Mechanism of response to salinity in halotolerant microalgae. Plant Soil 89:69–82
Kaplan A, Badger MB, Berry J (1980) Photosynthesis and the intercellular inorganic carbon pool in the blue-green alga Anabaena variabilis: Response to external CO2 concentrations. Planta 149:219–226
Kauss H (1973) Turnover of galactosylglycerol and osmotic balance in Ochromonas. Plant Physiol 52:613–615
Kauss H, Thomson KS, Thomson M, Jeblick W (1979) Osmotic regulation. Physiological significance of proteolytic and nonproteolytic activation of isolforidoside-phosphate synthase. Plant Physiol 63:455–459
Mackay MA, Norton RS, Borowitzka LJ (1984) Organic osmoregulatory solutes in cyanobacteria. J Gen Microbiol 130:2177–2191
Packer L, Tel-Or E, Mehlhorn R, Spath S (1985) 13C-NMR studies of osmoregulation in a marine cyanobacterium. Ann. Meeting Am Soc Plant Physiol, Brown Univ., Providence, Rhode Island, Abstract in Plant Physiol 78 (4) (Suppl)
Raven JA (1985) Regulation of pH and generation of osmolarity in vascular plants: A cost-benefit analysis in relation to efficiency of use of energy, nitrogen, and water. New Phytol 101:25–77
Reed RH, Stewart WDP (1985) Osmotic adjustment and organic solute accumulation in unicellular cyanobacteria from freshwater and marine habitats. Mar Biol 88:1–9
Reed RH, Richardson, DL, Warr SRC, Stewart WDP (1984) Carbohydrate accumulation and osmotic stress in cyanobacteria. J Gen Microbiol 130:1–4
Reed RH, Richardson DL, Stewart WDP (1985) Na+ uptake and extrusion in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6714 in response to hypersaline treatment. Evidence for transient changes in plasmalemma Na+ permeability. Biochim Biophys Acta 814:347–355
Richardson DL, Reed RH, Stewart WDP (1983) Synechocystis PCC 6803: a euryhaline cyanobacterium. FEMS Microbiol Lett 18:99–102
Scherer S, Böger P (1982) Respiration of blue-green algae in the light. Arch Microbiol 132:329–332
Warr SRC, Reed RH, Chudek JA, Forster R, Stewart WDP (1985) Osmotic adjustment in Spirulina platensis. Plant 163:424–429
Yeo AR (1983) Salinity resistance: Physiologies and prices. Physiol Plant 58:214–222
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Eike Libbert on the occasion of his 60th birthday
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hagemann, M., Erdmann, N. & Wittenburg, E. Synthesis of glucosylglycerol in salt-stressed cells of the cyanobacterium Microcystis firma . Arch. Microbiol. 148, 275–279 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00456704
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00456704