[Light absorption by carotenoid peridinin in zooxanthellae cell and setting down of hermatypic coral to depth].
Carotenoid peridinin absorbs ocean light which could penetrate deep into the water. Absolute and relative contents of symbiotic dinoflagellatae zooxanthellae are increased with depth of habitat of germatypic corals. To estimate whether the presence of peridinin in corals is chromatic adaptation or not, the absorbance of solar radiation by different amounts of peridinin and chlorophyll in natice zooxanthellae cells was evaluated. Calculations have shown that at the great depths the peredinin absorbance corresponds to 42% of total cell absorbance and that the increase of light absorbance correlating with changes of its spectral characteristics is entirely determined by presence of this carotenoid. The increase of amount of peridinin in cell is as much important as important the increase of all other pigments taken together. However, at the same time selective and preferential accumulation of peridinin and the change of its native state in the limits naturally occurred in zooxanthellae cells have only low impact on the light absorbance. The presence of peridinin could be considered as manifestation of chromatic adaptation of organism. The comparison of light absorption by zooxanthellae with different content of peridinin (or without peridinin) reveals that this pigment expands the habitat of hermatypic corals in ocean waters at 8-17 meters into the deep.
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D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000502:physiology*; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D008027:Light; D013559:Symbiosis
C016040:peridinin; D002338:Carotenoids