Adaptation of the Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa to Light Intensity.
Light intensity adaptation (20 to 565 microeinsteins per square meter per second) of Microcystis aeruginosa (UV-027) was examined in turbidostat culture. Chlorophyll a and phycocyanin concentrations decreased with increasing light intensity while carotenoid, cellular carbon, and nitrogen contents did not vary. Variation in the number but not the size of photosynthetic units per cell, based on chlorophyll a/P(700) ratios, occurred on light intensity adaptation. Changes in the numbers of photosynthetic units partially dampened the effects of changes in light intensity on growth rates.
Raps
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Department of Biology, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973.
Wyman
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Siegelman
H W
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Falkowski
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PG