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A phytoassay procedure using fluorescence induction
Author(s) -
Caux P.Y.,
Blaise C.,
Leblanc P.,
Tache M.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620110413
Subject(s) - selenastrum , algae , fluorescence , photosynthesis , volume (thermodynamics) , bioassay , biology , chlorophyceae , analytical chemistry (journal) , botany , evaporation , chemistry , biophysics , environmental chemistry , chlorophyta , ecology , physics , optics , thermodynamics
A bioassay protocol has been developed to obtain the essential phytotoxicological data on toxicants influencing the electronic transport chain of the photosynthetic light reactions. The purpose of this study was to determine the principal physical factors affecting the photosynthetic fluorescence induction response (Kautsky effect) of algae grown in microplates. It was found that levels of relative fluorescence units (R.F.U.s) varied heterogeneously in a microplate whose 96 wells were inoculated with a culture of Selenastrum capricornutum at constant inoculum conditions for a period of 4 d. In order to account for this, the following parameters were analyzed: effect of evaporation processes, cell concentration, algal culture volume, probe distance, adjacent well proximity, plate well shape, and plate opaqueness. It was found that intraplate variation of R.F.U. levels occurred as a result of media evaporation from peripheral wells. R.F.U. levels were directly proportional to the culture cell concentration and to the culture cell volume but indirectly proportional to the culture distance from the light harvesting probe. R.F.U.s from black microplates gave a lower response but with less variation than those from translucent microplates.