Blue Light, a Positive Switch Signal for Nitrate and Nitrite Uptake by the Green Alga Monoraphidium braunii

Blue light was shown to regulate the utilization of oxidized nitrogen sources by green algae, both by activating nitrate reductase and promoting nitrite reductase biosysnthesis (MA Quiñones, PJ Aparicio [1990] Inorganic Nitrogen in Plants and Microorganisms, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 171-177; MA Quiñones, PJ Aparicio [1990] Photochem Photobiol 51: 681-692). The data reported herein show that, when cells of Monoraphidium braunii at pH 8, containing both active nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase, were sparged with CO(2)-free air and irradiated with strong background red light, they took up oxidized nitrogen sources only when PAR comprised blue light. The activation of the transport system(s) of either both nitrate and nitrite was very quick and elicited by low irradiance blue light. In fact, blue light appears to act as a switch signal from the environment, since the uptake of these anions immediately ceased when this radiation was turned off. The requirement of blue light for nitrate uptake was independent of the availability of CO(2) to cells. However, cells under high CO(2) tensions, although they showed an absolute blue light requirement to initially establish the uptake of nitrite, as they gained carbon skeletons to allocate ammonia, gradually increased their nitrite uptake rates in the subsequent red light intervals. Under CO(2)-free atmosphere, cells irradiated with strong background red light of 660 nanometers only evolved oxygen when they were additionally irradiated with low irradiance blue light and either nitrate or nitrite was present in the media to provide electron acceptors for the photosynthetic reaction.