Effects of prolonged darkness on the relative pigment content of cultured diatoms and green algae

To determine some of the environmental effects that influence the relative proportions of pigments in algae, high pressure liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis was employed to determine the relative amounts of common photosynthetic pigments in batch cultures of the diatoms,Fragilaria crotonensis andThalassiosira pseudonana, and the green algae,Scenedesmus abundans, andHaematococcus pluvialis, illuminated for 12 hours each day. Similar analyses were conducted in five-day experiments during which cultures ofF. crotonensis andS. quadricauda were kept in continuous darkness. Comparing the results to those for controls continuing to receive the daily illumination indicated that the diatoms and green algae react similarly to light deficiency. The relative amounts of the main accessory pigment in the diatoms, fucoxanthin, and that in the green alga, apparently lutein, decreased as a reaction to a lack of illumination, while the total chlorophyll level in algae of both groups remained nearly constant. Quantitative differences induced by the experimental conditions were considerably less that those observed among different species of diatom or among the different green algae, however. Finally, cultures ofS. quadricauda were analyzed and then kept for 43 days without the addition of any nutrients. A proportion of the culture was kept for this period in perpetual darkness while another continued to receive 12 hours of illumination. The results show that considerable changes occur as the cultures age, and that these changes occur more slowly in the darkness. Some consequences of these findings for phytoplankton production studies based on analyses of photosynthetic pigments are discussed.