Polyphosphate metabolism in the blue-green alga Microcystis aeru-ginosa

The uptake of inorganic phosphorus was studied in an axenic strain of phosphorus-starved cells of the blue-green alga Microcystis aeruginosa , an organism often causing blooms in freshwater bodies. Rates of growth and of cellular polyphosphate content as a function of initial orthophosphate in the medium indicate the operation of the ‘phosphorus overplus’ phenomenon in M. aeruginosa , accompanied by formation of volutin granules. The granules were isolated by a non-aqueous centrifugation method, and identified as polyphosphate bodies.