COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF ACTION SPECTRA OF GLYCOLATE EXCRETION ("PHOTORESPIRATION") AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN THE BLUE-GREEN ALGA AN ACYSTIS NIDULANS

Abstract. The action spectra were determined by measuring photosynthetic H¹⁴CO^-₃-fixation and ¹⁴C-glycolate excretion to the medium during 15 min exposure to light at 15 different wavelengths in the visible region using interference filters and a 2500 W high pressure Xe lamp at a constant photon flux of about 1.51 × 10¹⁹ quanta m^-2.s^-1 at all wavelengths.
When plotted on relative scales the action spectrum of glycolate excretion lies below that of photosynthesis at all wavelengths shorter than 517 nm. As glycolate excretion had an exponential relationship to photosynthetic rates, different methods were used to analyze for a specific blue light effect which demonstrated that the relative amount of glycolate excretion was depressed by blue light compared with that by green and red. The greatest difference was observed around 460–480 nm. However, on statistical grounds it is not permitted to draw a difference spectrum which might indicate the absorption characteristics of pigment(s) involved.
A hypothesis is discussed assuming that some glycolate is consumed in an oxidation process for supply of electrons to Photosystem I when Photosystem II is poorly excited in the blue region of the spectrum, which was the case for Anacystis used in the present investigation.