Effect of external factors on phototaxis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

1. The effects of carbon dioxide, oxygen and pH on the inversion intensity of phototaxis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been investigated. 2. With decreasing with CO2 tension the inversion intensity is decreased. 3. The gassing with CO2 can be substituted by hydrogencarbonate only to a small extent (20%). On the other hand, the effect of decreasing CO2 tension can be prevented also only in part by adjusting the pH to about 6.5-7.0. Thus the effect of CO2 on the inversion intensity of phototaxis is obviously a composite of a true CO2 effect and an effect of the concomitant pH change. 4. Oxygen has only a slight effect. In presence of oxygen (air) the phototactic reaction values are somewhat lower than in its absence. 5. Under certain conditions circadian rhythms seem to be initiated by changing oxygen as well as CO2 tensions. 6. Based on these results some contradictory results of older investigations are discussed.