New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Micronutrient effects on cyanobacterial growth and physiology

JOHN G. RUETER

RICHARD R. PETERSEN

Department of Biology Portland State University P. O. Box 751, Portland Oregon 97207, U. S. A.

Abstract Trace metals play crucial roles in the carbon and nitrogen metabolism of cyanobacteria. Physiological responses to metal limitation and toxicity in culture have shown that iron is important for photosynthesis and energy distribution in the cell while both iron and molybdenum are biochemically involved in nitrate reduction and nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is also relatively sensitive to copper toxicity. Consequently, factors that affect the supply rate, chemical speciation, or the recycling of trace metals can alter patterns of primary productivity and nitrogen metabolism. Overall, three trace metal dependent processes may contribute towards dominance: efficient use of limiting light, nitrogen fixation, and production of extracellular iron binding compounds.

Keywords blue-green algae; copper toxicity; cyanobacteria; cyanophytes; growth; iron; micron-utrients; molybdenum; nitrogen fixation; photosynthesis; physiology; trace metal nutrition

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1987, Vol. 21: 435-445 0028-8330/87/2103-0435$2.50/0 © Crown copyright 1987 Received 19 February 1987; accepted 13 April 1987

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (948K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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