A new model of phycobilisome in Spirulina platensis

Phycobilisomes (PBS) were isolated from blue-green algaSpirulina platensis. Scanning tunneling microscope was used to investigate the three-dimensional structure of PBS deposited on freshly cleaved highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) in ambient condition at room temperature. The results showed that the rods of PBS radiated from the core to different directions in the space other than arrayed in one plane, which was different from the typical hemi-discoidal model structure. The diameter of PBS was up to 70 nm, and the rod was approximately 50 nm in length. Similar results were observed in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of PBS. The dissociated PBS could reaggregate into rod-like structures and easily form two-dimensional membrane while being absorbed on HOPG, however, no intact PBS was observed. The filling-space model structure of PBS inSpirulina platensis with STM from three-dimensional real space at nanometer scale was found, which showed that this new structural model of PBS surely exists in blue-green algae and red algae. The function of this structural model of PBS was also discussed.     

A new model of phycobilisome in Spirulina platensis

Phycobilisomes (PBS) were isolated from blue-green alga Spirulina platensis. Scanning tunneling microscope was used to investigate the three-dimensional structure of PBS deposited on freshly cleaved highly oriented py-rolytic graphite (HOPG) in ambient condition at room temperature. The results showed that the rods of PBS radiated from the core to different directions in the space other than arrayed in one plane, which was different from the typical hemi-discoidal model structure. The diameter of PBS was up to 70 nm, and the rod was approximately 50 nm in length. Similar results were observed in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of PBS. The dissociated PBS could reaggregate into rod-like structures and easily form two-dimensional membrane while being absorbed on HOPG, however, no intact PBS was observed. The filling-space model structure of PBS in Spirulina platensis with STM from three-dimensional real space at nanometer scale was found, which showed that this new structural model of PBS surely exists in blue     

巨大螺旋藻光合放氧和超微结构的研究

选用常温下培养的巨大螺旋藻为材料,对其光合放氧与超微结构进行了观察和研究。结果表明：１）巨大螺旋藻具有较强的放氧能力;２）巨大螺旋藻细胞内存在有含量极丰富的类囊体,气泡,藻胆体及羧化体等特写结构与其光合放氧特性相适应;３）类囊体膜片层在细胞的部分区域已趋于重叠,且封闭成一独立系统存在,具类似真核生物叶绿体的结构;４）从进化角度来看,巨大螺旋藻类囊体膜存在的方式可以作为叶绿体系统演化的证据之一,即真     

Far‐red dependent changes in the chemical composition of Spirulina platensis

The influence of far‐red light (FRL) was studied on the chemical composition of Spirulina platensis biomass. The following light compositions were used during the culture white light, blue‐red LED light (BRL) and BRL supplemented with FRL (BRFRL). Chlorophyll and phenol contents were measured by spectrophotometric methods, whereas presence of carotenoids, lipids, and phycobiliproteins were estimated by Fourier‐transform Raman spectrometry. Additionally, phenol content was investigated by fluorescence intensity of algae culture in the range of 430–650 nm. The content of chlorophyll and phenols in algae cells depended on the spectral composition of light and was the highest under BRL (16.7 ± 0.5 and 9.1 ± 0.6, respectively). It was shown that there is a positive linear correlation (R = 0.902 at p < 0.0000001) between the ratio of relative fluorescence intensity of S. platensis suspensions at 450 nm to the suspensions at 540 nm (F450/F540) and the content of phenolic compounds in the biomass. Changes in the F450/F540 ratio can explain approximately 80% changes of phenol contents in algae cells. Spirulina platensis Raman spectra demonstrated that the biomass of algae growing under white light and BRL had a significantly higher intensity of phycobiliprotein bands than the algae growing under BRFRL.     

In vivo fluorometric method for early detection of cyanobacterial waterblooms

A specific method was developed for monitoring the concentration of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) before waterblooms, based on their characteristics ofin vivo fluorescence. The excitation and emission spectra of cyanobacteria are very different from those of eukaryotic algae, due to the importance of phycocyanin, rather than chlorophylla, in determining the fluorescence characteristics. Our results, based on four cyanobacteria:Microcystis aeruginosa, Anabaena cylindrica, Phormidium tenue andSpirulina platensis, indicate that excitation at 620 nm and its emission at 645 nm is a sensitive and specific method for their detection. Furthermore, the addition of 10 M photosynthesis inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU) induced only 3% increase in phycocyanin fluorescence, suggesting that this measurement is almost independent of the ongoing rate of photosynthesis.Author for correspondence     

Degradation of Chlorpyrifos by an alkaline phosphatase from the cyanobacterium <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spirulina platensis</Emphasis>

Spirulina is a photosynthetic, filamentous, spiral-shaped, multicellular, blue-green microalga. The two most important species are Spirulina maxima and Spirulina platensis. Spirulina is considered an excellent food, lacking toxicity and having corrective properties against viral attacks, anemia, tumor growth and malnutrition. We have observed that cultures of Spirulina platensis grow in media containing up to 80 ppm of the organophosphorous pesticide, Chlorpyrifos. It was found to be due to an alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity that was detected in cell free extracts of Spirulina platensis. This activity was purified from the cell free extracts using ammonium sulphate precipitation and gel filtration and shown to belong to the class of EC 3.1.3.1 ALP. The purified enzyme degrades 100 ppm Chlorpyrifos to 20 ppm in 1 h transforming it into its primary metabolite 3, 5, 6-trichloro-2-pyridinol. This is the first report of degradation of Chlorpyrifos by Spirulina platensis whose enzymic mechanism has been clearly identified. These findings have immense potential for harnessing Spirulina platensis in bioremediation of polluted ecosystems.     

Protoplasts from the cyanobacterium,Spirulina platensis

Protoplasts were obtained from the filamentous blue-green algaSpirulina platensis by treating the filaments with 0.05% (w/v) lysozyme in 0.03m phosphate buffer. The protoplasts regenerated cell walls and formed colonies when plated on a regeneration medium. The highest percentage of regeneration, 40% was obtained after 21 days.     

The Ultrastructure of Spirulina platensis— A New Source of Microbial Protein

The ultrastructure of the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis has been investigated. The appearance of photosynthetic thylakoids, polyphosphate and cyanophycin granules and nucleoplasm was studied. Cells of Spirulina have also been disintegrated and extracted with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide and the amount of extractable and isoelectrically precipitable nitrogen has been determined. High yields were obtained with about 60 % of the nitrogen precipitable after extraction of disintegrated cells.     

Role of Sodium Ions and Their Uptake by Cells of Cultured Blue-Green Algae, Spirulina platensis and Spirulina maxima

The growth of the blue-green algae Spirulina platensis and Spirulina maxima, cultured in complete mineral Zarouk medium containing Na⁺ or Na⁺-deficient medium, was studied over a period of 24 h. The optical densities of S. platensis and S. maxima cells, determined during the last hour of exposure to sodium deficiency, amounted to 55.6 and 32.6%, respectively, of the optical densities of the same cells grown in complete Zarouk medium. Moreover, the cultures grown in Na⁺-deficient medium exhibited increased ability to take up sodium (which was low in S. platensis and S. maxima cells cultured in complete mineral medium). It is concluded that the two species studied are characterized by periodic, on the order of minutes, changes in the cellular uptake and release of sodium.     

高碘酸钠和戊二醛交联法构建的R-藻红蛋白-C-藻蓝蛋白交联物能量传递效率的比较研究

从单细胞蓝藻钝顶螺旋藻中纯化C-藻蓝蛋白,从海洋红藻多管藻纯化R-藻红蛋白.分别用高碘酸钠氧化法和戊二醛法将二者共价连接为R-藻红蛋白-C-藻蓝蛋白交联物,再用Sephadex G-200柱层析纯化.光谱分析表明,用两种方法构建的共价交联物都可以将激发能从R-藻红蛋白传递到C-藻蓝蛋白.二者相比,高碘酸钠氧化法构建的共价交联物的能量传递效率更高.     

Observations on temperature optimum,cyst production,and survival of Streptocephalus proboscideus (Frauenfeld, 1873) (Crustacea: Anostraca), fed different diets

Somatic growth in S. proboscideus, fed Chlorella vulgaris increased with temperature reaching a plateau after about 8 to 11 days at between 26 and 31 °C. Survival was best below 29 °C. Fertility (the number of cysts produced per female) and survival, tested at 27 °C, demonstrated some variability as a function of the composition of four different diets. However, large variances and few replicates make exact evaluation impossible.It was found that S. proboscideus can successfully be cultured, using a variety of food sources. Only pure Spirulina platensis gave unsatisfactory results in terms of low cyst production and high mortality. Filamentous blue-green algae, because of their possible toxicity, should preferably be excluded from formulated diets.     

Molecular replacement studies on crystal structure of allophycocyanin from red algaePorphyra yezoensis

Using the crystal structure of allophycocyanin from cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis (APC-SP) as a search model, the crystal structure of allophycocyanin from red algae Porphyra yezoensis (APC-PY) has been studied by molecular replacement methods. The APC-PY crystals (Form 3) belong to the space group of R32, cell dimensions a = b = 10.53 nm, c = 18.94 nm, α =β = 90°, γ= 120°; there is one αβ monomer in each crystallographic asymmetric unit in the cell. The translation function search gave a unique peak with a correlation coefficient (Cc) of 67.0% and an R-factor of 36.1 % for reflection data from 1.0 to 0.4 nm. Using the results by molecular replacement, the initial model of APC-PY was built, and the coincidence of the chromophore in APC-PY initial model with its 2Fo-FC OMIT map further confirms the results by molecular replacement.     

Biomass production,total protein,chlorophylls, lipids and fatty acids of freshwater green and blue-green algae under different nitrogen regimes

Two green algae (Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus) and four blue-green algae (Anacystis nidulans, Microcystis aeruginosa, Oscillatoria rubescens and Spirulina platensis) were grown in 81 batch cultures at different nitrogen levels. In all the algae increasing N levels led to an increase in the biomass (from 8 to 450 mg/l), in protein content (from 8 to 54 %) and in chlorophyll. At low N levels, the green algae contained a high percentage of total lipids (45 % of the biomass). More than 70 % of these were neutral lipids such as triacylglycerols (containing mainly 16:0 and 18:1 fatty acids) and trace amounts of hydrocarbons. At high N levels, the percentage of total lipids dropped to about 20 % of the dry weight. In the latter case the predominant lipids were polar lipids containing polyunsaturated C₁₆ and C₁₈ fatty acids. The blue-green algae, however, did not show any significant changes in their fatty acid and lipid compositions, when the nitrogen concentrations in the nutrient medium were varied. Thus the green but not the blue-green algae can be manipulated in mass cultures to yield a biomass with desired fatty acid and lipid compositions. The data may indicate a hitherto unrecognized distinction between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.     

Alterations in beta-islets of Langerhans in alloxan-induced diabetic rats by marine Spirulina platensis

Marine Spirulina platensis may potentially influence the metabolic process in animal cells, and the effect of marine Spirulina platensis in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats was therefore investigated. Normal and diabetic rats (albino Wistar strain) were orally administered marine Spirulina platensis for 30 days and their blood levels of glucose and insulin and body weight changes were determined. Pancreatic histopathology was also noted. Treatment with marine Spirulina platensis caused significant alterations in the content of these indicators and therefore in the antidiabetic capacity of the treated animals compared to control rats.     

On the morphology and ultrastructure of the cell wall of Spirulina platensis

The cell wall of the blue-green alga Spirulina platensis was studied with the electron microscope using ultra-thin sectioning, shadowing, carbon-replication or freeze-etching techniques for specimen preparation. The cell wall could be resolved into four layers, L-I through L-IV. The L-I and L-III layers contain fibrillar material. The septum is a three-layered wall: an L-II layer sandwiched between L-I layers. The shape in vitro of isolated septa might be an artifact due to the preparation technique used. Certain structural properties of the septum seem to allow tangential stretching; they might be reflected in the flexible gliding mobility of Spirulina species. The outer, L-IV layer contains material longitudinally arranged along the trichome axis.     

Hydrocarbons in green and blue-green algae

Liquid column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography were used to determine the total content of hydrocarbons and gas chromatography was used to evaluate composition of hydrocarbons in green algae (Chlorella kessleri, C. vulgaris, Chlorella sp.,Scenedesmus acutus, S. acuminatus, S. obliquus) and the blue-green alga (Spirulina platensis) cultivated under autotrophic or heterotrophic conditions. InC. kessleri cultivated under heterotrophic conditions the content of hydrocarbons was found to be about 10^-2 % (per dry mass), whereas under autotrophic conditions it was about 10^-3 % (per dry mass). The highest content of hydrocarbons was detected in species of the genusScenedesmus cultivated autotrophically (10^-1 %). Heptadecane and hexacosane were found as major alkanes, 1-heptadecene was detected among alkenes.     

Comparative immunological characterization of various photosynthetic cytochromes c from pro- and eukaryotic algae

Photosynthetic c-type cytochromes isolated from various pro- and eukaryotic algae have been compared by an immunochemical method. Thereby the extent of cross-reactivity of several cytochromes with antisera to cytochrome c from Spirulina platensis, Bumilleriopsis filiformis, and Scenedesmus acutus was quantitatively determined by antigen-binding tests. When immunological relationship is taken as a measure of structural relationship, the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) c-type cytochromes from Anabaena variabilis, Nostoc muscorum, Calothrix membranacea, and Spirulina platensis show large differences in cross-reactivity. (2) The acidic Spirulina cytochrome c is fairly closely related to the two eukaryotic cytochromes assayed here.Abbreviations SAUG Sammlung von Algenkulturen am Pflanzenphysiologischen Institut der Universität Göttingen, FRG - PCC Pasteur Culture Collection     

Alterations in the structure of phycobilisomes of the cyanobacterium,Spirulina platensis in response to enhanced Na+ level

Incubation of Spirulina platensis at enhanced Na⁺ concentrations resulted in 30% increased intracellular accumulation of Na⁺ ions. This accumulation of Na⁺ ions intracellularly altered the phycobilisome organization as revealed by transmission electron microscopic data and changes in the absorption spectrum. The room temperature emission peak at 638 nm in the control sample was blue-shifted by 7 nm in the treated samples suggesting phycobilisome disorganization. SDS-PAGE of phycobilisome polypeptides showed a significant increase in a 66.2 kDa polypeptide. This is the first report that the enhanced concentration of intracellular Na⁺ ion alters the structure of the phycobilisome in S. platensis. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Monolayer Film of Phycobilisome-Thylakoid Membrane Complexes from Spirulina platensis

Monolayer films of phycobilisome-thylakoid membrane complexes isolated from Spirulina platensis were prepared at air/aqueous solution interface by using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The film preparation was optimized with 0.5 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) as sub-phase at 20 °C. The monolayer was transferred into grids and into mica surface for observing the surface image of the complexes by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscope, respectively. The shape of complexes was disk-like with the diameter of about 50 nm and the thickness of about 35 nm. The absorption and fluorescence spectra of the complexes in the monolayer were consistent with those in buffer solution, which suggests that the complexes in the monolayer preserve the basic functional groups of photosynthetic apparatus and can be used as a model to investigate the structural connection and functional association of the light-harvesting antenna with the reaction centres.     

Secretion of Free Fatty Acids by Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Algae at Optimal,Supraoptimal, and Suboptimal Growth Temperatures

The paper describes the composition of extracellular free fatty acids (FFAs) and intracellular fatty acids (FAs) in the enrichment cultures of the prokaryotic alga Spirulina platensisand the eukaryotic alga Chlorella vulgarisgrown at optimal, supraoptimal, and suboptimal growth temperatures. With increasing growth temperature, the degree of unsaturation of the intracellular FAs of both algae decreased, while that of the extracellular FFAs of S. platensisincreased. The composition of the extracellular FFAs of C. vulgarispractically did not depend on the growth temperature.