A mechanistic model is presented that describes changes in the chlorophyll a:carbon ratio of microalgae growing in fluctuating light.A consideration of the mass budgets for cell carbon and chlorophyll during nutrient-sufficient microalgal growth illustrates that imbalances between rates of synthesis and degradation of the macromolecular components of a microalgal cell will result in changes in its biochemical composition.The dynamic equations describing the rate of response of the ch1:C and C:chl ratios to a change in light level are shown to depend on the magnitude of the change.In particular, the cases of light-limited and light-saturated growth rate are considered.A previously described empirical model of photoadaptation kinetics is shown to be a special case of the new analytical model.In general, we conclude that for a photoadaptive variable defined as the ratio of 2 biochemical constituents of a cell where the denominator is the concentration of the catalyst that is rate-limiting for photosynthesis, then the new, mechanistic model simplifies to a first order differential equation describing the photoadaptation kinetics of the ratio.
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Geider et al. (1986) studied this question.