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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1980 September; 40(3): 587-595

Physiological Adaptations in Response to Environmental Stress During an N₂-Fixing Anabaena Bloom

Penelope E. Kellar and Hans W. Paerl

Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557

ABSTRACT

Anabaena spiroides has the ability to maintain intense biomass production for extensive periods in the epilimnion of a small eutrophic lake characterized by conditions shown to cause photooxidative death in a number of other phytoplankton. By the enhancement of carotenoid synthesis chlorophyll a was protected from photooxidation and prevented from catalyzing other photooxidative reactions within the cells. By temporally separating CO₂ and N₂ fixation, maximum utilization of photosynthetically active radiation was achieved. Because CO₂ fixation was more sensitive than N₂ fixation to a high oxygen concentration, the former was maximized during morning hours, before the afternoon buildup of dissolved oxygen. The diurnal partitioning of carbon and N₂ fixation has two additional advantages; possible competition for reductant-generating compounds is minimized, and adequate endogenous pools of carbon skeletons are assured to accept newly fixed ammonia. Hence, Anabaena, far from undergoing photooxidative death, appears to utilize a physiological strategy which allows optimization of radiant energy use for reductive processes and dominance of surface waters and shading of deeper phytoplankton during summer blooms.

Present address: Lake Mead Limnological Research Center, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154.