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COCCOID EUKARYOTIC MARINE ULTRAPLANKTERS WITH FOUR DIFFERENT HPLC PIGMENT SIGNATURES 1
Author(s) -
Hooks Craig E.,
Bidigare Robert R.,
Keller Maureen D.,
Guillard Robert R. L.
Publication year - 1988
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.1529-8817.1988.tb04264.x
Subject(s) - biology , pigment , high performance liquid chromatography , computational biology , botany , chromatography , organic chemistry , chemistry
Pigment compositions of 16 coccoid eukaryotic ultraplanktonic clones isolated from coastal and oceanic waters were investigated by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Four distinct pigment signatures were observed, and clones were classified into subgroups based on the presence or absence and relative abundances of selected chlorphylls and carotenoids. The first subgroup (5 clones) was pigmented like chlorophyll b‐containing higher plants and resembled true chlorophycean algae. The second subgroup (3 clones) contained chlorophyll b and relatively high levels of prasinoxanthin, a carotenoid characteristic of certain members of the Prasinophyceae (sometimes grouped as the Micromonadophyceae). The third subgroup (5 clones) was pigmented in a similar fashion but had a twofold lower prasinoxanthin‐to‐chlorophyll a ratio and an unidentified carotenoid. The fourth subgroup (3 clones) lacked chlorophyll b and was pigmented like certain members of the Chrysophyceae (e. g. 19′‐butanoyloxyfucoxanthin‐containing Pelagococcus subviridis Norris) Online diode array spectral analysis of selected clonal extracts revealed the presence of Mg 2,4‐divinylphaeoporphyrin a 5 monomethyl ester‐like and chlorophyll c‐like pigments in representatives of the prasinophyte‐like and chrysophyte like clones, respectively. These findings plus the occurrence of chlorophyll b, prasinoxanthin and 19′‐butanoyloxyfucoxanthin in the North Atlantic Ocean suggest that chrysophyte‐ and prasinophyte‐like organisms can be important biomass components of marine phytoplankton.