Premium
RESPONSE OF ANABAENA FLOS‐AQUAE (CYANOPHYTA) NITROGENASE ACTIVITY TO SUDDEN PHOSPHATE DEPRIVATION 1
Author(s) -
Gerber Brain L.,
Wickstrom Conrad E.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-3646.1990.00650.x
Subject(s) - nitrogenase , anabaena , biology , heterocyst , phosphorus , phosphate , algae , cyanobacteria , zoology , botany , nitrogen fixation , biochemistry , bacteria , chemistry , organic chemistry , genetics
Cultures of Anabaena flos‐aquae (Lyng.) Breb. Were used to determine changes in nitrogenase activity (acetylene reduction) after external concentrations of phosphorus were lowered. Two days following immersion in phosphorus‐free medium, nitrogenase activity (NA) had doubled and required 8 days to return to time zero levels. Subsequent long‐term experiments showed that concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) released from the algae transferred into the –P medium reached maximum levels by day 3 and returned to initial low values by days 7–10. NA was always highest during this SRP release‐reassimilation phase but steadily decreased after reassimilation was complete. Day 56 NA was 5–14% of initial activity. The data support the hypothesis that heterocyst and vegetative cell ATP pools are discrete and suggest that the short‐term effects of phosphorus removal as an aquatic restoration technique need further study.