Incorporation of [S]Sulfate and [C]Bicarbonate into Karyotype-specific Polysaccharides of Chondrus crispus

Gametophytic and sporophytic tissues of Chondrus crispus (Stackhouse) cultured in vitro were labeled with ³⁵S and ¹⁴C. The major sulfated polysccharides isolated from the two karyotypes were characterized by KCI fractionation, immunoprecipitation, and infrared spectroscopy. Reproducibility of data has been demonstrated by an experiment using gametophytic T₄ strain with five replicates per time point. The rate of sulfate uptake was similar in haploid and diploid plants from a given area cultured for a similar time. Cultures from different sources cultured for different times showed different uptake and incorporation levels. Although sulfate uptake did not appear to be karyotype-related, the pattern of incorporation of ³⁵S and ¹⁴C into polysaccharides was ploidy-specific.