Photooxidative Death in Blue-Green Algae

When incubated in the light under 100% oxygen, wild-type blue-green algae (Anacystis nidulans, Synechococcus cedrorum) die out rapidly at temperatures of 4 to 15 C, and at 35 C (or at 26 C in the case of S. cedrorum) in the absence of CO(2). Photosynthesis is impaired in these cells long before they die. Blocking of photosystem II at high temperatures in the presence of CO(2) sensitizes the algae to photooxidative death. Photooxidative death and bleaching of photosynthetic pigments are separable phenomena. Photooxidative conditions were demonstrated in Israeli fish ponds using A. nidulans as the test organism during dense summer blooms, when dissolved CO(2) is low, and in winter, when water temperatures generally drop below 15 C. This finding suggests that photooxidative death may be responsible for the sudden decomposition of blue-green blooms in summer, and may be a factor in the absence of blue-green blooms in winter.