Long-term photoacclimation of Haslea ostrearia (Bacillariophyta): effect of irradiance on growth rates, pigment content and photosynthesis

Abstract

Haslea ostrearia, the peculiar diatom that develops in oyster-ponds and synthesizes a water-soluble blue pigment (marennine), was grown in a semi-continuous mode over a wide range of irradiances (20–750 μmol; m⁻² s⁻¹). Growth, photosynthesis and pigment content were determined for algae maintained in exponential growth phase by regular dilution with fresh medium. Increasing the growth irradiance resulted in a decrease in the chloroplast length, but had no clear influence on the size of the cellular compartments pigmented by marennine accumulation. Growth rates increased with irradiance from 20 to 100 μmol; m⁻² s⁻¹ and were constant from 100 to 750 μmol; m⁻² s⁻¹. Increasing growth irradiance caused a decrease in the cellular content of chlorophylls a and c and fucoxanthin, in contrast to diadinoxanthin. Algae acclimated to high irradiance had lower maximum photosynthetic rate (Pⁿ_m) and maximum light utilization coefficient (α) when expressed on a per cell basis. On a chlorophyll a basis, the higher the growth irradiance, the lower the maximum light utilization coefficient and the higher the maximum photosynthetic rate. No photoinhibition was observed at irradiances up to 1500 μmol; m⁻² s⁻¹ whatever the growth irradiance. In vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence showed that cells grown at high irradiance had effective photosystem II quantum efficiency (measured at the growth irradiance) considerably lower than that of cells grown at low irradiance. Thus H. ostrearia withstands high light exposure, consistent with the observation that this alga can outcompete other diatoms encountered in oyster-ponds characterized by low turbidity and shallow depth.