Abstract
Disc-shaped phycobilisomes were purified from Triton X100 treated cell homogenates of the unicellular marine red alga, Rhodella violacea. Their absorption spectrum had principal maxima at 544 and 568 nm (B-phycoerythrin), 624 nm (C-phycocyanin) and a distinct shoulder at 652 nm (allophycocyanin). Intermolecular energy transfer within the phycobilisomes was clearly demonstrated by fluorescence data. Excited at 546 nm intact phycobilisomes showed a main fluorescence emission maximum at 665 nm, a minor one at 577 nm and a shoulder at 730 nm.
Dissociated phycobilisomes revealed a composition of 58% B-phycoerythrin, 25% C-phycocyanin and 17% allophycocyanin under the cultural conditions used. Analytical methods resolved no other components than phycobiliproteins. In addition to the defined C-phycocyanin and two isoproteins of B-phycoerythrin a stable heterogeneous aggregate of B-phycoerythrin/C-phycocyanin was separated in considerable amounts.
In the electron microscope negatively stained phycobilisomes appeared as elliptical aggregates having dimensions slightly above the values found in ultrathin sections and a detailed subunit structure. All observations and data suggest a new rhodophytan phycobilisome type in Rhodella violacea.
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Abbreviations
- PBS:
-
phycobilisome(s)
- PE:
-
B-phycoerythrin
- PC:
-
C-phycocyanin
- APC:
-
allophycocyanin
- C:
-
concentration (mg/ml)
- E:
-
extinction
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Koller, K.P., Wehrmeyer, W. & Schneider, H. Isolation and characterization of disc-shaped phycobilisomes from the red alga rhodella violacea . Arch. Microbiol. 112, 61–67 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00446655
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00446655