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Studies with cyanidium caldarium, an anomalously pigmented chlorophyte

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Summary

Cyanidium caldarium, an alga found in acid hot springs troughout the world, has a morphology and developmental history resembling those of Chlorella, but contains C-phycocyanin and no chlorophyll other than chlorophyll a. The reasons for considering it to be a member of the Chlorophyta are reviewed.

Cyanidium is also remarkable for its thermal and acid tolerance. It grows readily in the dark on sugar media. However, light is required for the formation of chlorophyll and phycocyanin except in occasional variant cells which can form limited amounts of these pigments in the dark. Light-grown Cyanidium carries out normal green plant photosynthesis but resembles the red and some of the blue-green algae in that chlorophyll-absorbed light is used with lower efficiency than that absorbed by phycocyanin.

The possible significance of the unusual pigmentation of Cyanidium is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Comparative Physiology and Morphology of The Kaiser Foundation, University of California, Strawberry Canyon Road, Berkeley

    Mary Belle Allen

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  1. Mary Belle Allen
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Contribution no.23 from the Laboratory of Comparative Physiology and Morphology of The Kaiser Foundation.

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Allen, M.B. Studies with cyanidium caldarium, an anomalously pigmented chlorophyte. Archiv. Mikrobiol. 32, 270–277 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409348

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409348

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