Palmelloid Formation of Chlamydomonas II. Mechanism of Palmelloid Formation by Organic Acids

To clarify the mechanism of palmelloid formation by organic acids, the dissociation of the suspension of palmelloids in different media was studied. It was found that the palmelloids can be dissociated by the calcium ion at the low concentration of 6.8 × 10^-5M, but not by the magnesium ion. The dissociation is suppressed by the phosphate ion. Furthermore, Chlamydomonas cells grown in media containing EDTA or GEDTA or in media deficient in calcium, are induced to form palmelloids. These results indicate that the effect of organic acids on the formation of palmelloids are due to their ability to chelate with calcium.