THE UPTAKE AND OXIDATION OF GLYCOLIC ACID BY BLUE-GREEN ALGAE1

Two species of blue-green algae Anabaena flosaquae and Oscillatoria sp. were shown to assimilate glycolic acid. In the presence of DCMU in light, approximately 50% of it wax oxidized to carbon dioxide; 90% was oxidized in the dark. Glycolate assimilation was increased fivefold by lowering the pH of the medium from 9.0 to 5.0, and the rate of uptake increased with increasing concentration of exogenous glycolate up to a saturation concentration of 12–14 mM. α-Hydroxysulfonates markedly inhibited glycolate uptake and oxidation but iso-nicotinyl hydrazide had little effect. These results indicate that glycolate oxidation occurs in vivo, but that the glycolate pathway in these algae differs some-what from that of higher plants.