PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA: PHOTOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF PHAEODACTYLUM TRICORNUTUM TO DYNAMIC AND STATIC IRRADIANCES

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The kinetics of xanthophyll‐cycle pigment switching and fluorescence quenching dynamics in the marine diatom, Phaeodactylum tricornutum were determined in the context of dynamic and static growth light. Cultures were grown in a modified photobioreactor capable of producing dynamic light fields which exhibited attenuation characteristics similar to that of water; these cultures were pre‐acclimated to high and low, static and dynamic, growth‐light regimes for at least three days, and then examined under high, static and dynamic light. Pigment pools varied markedly. The two static light cultures had pigment complements that were very similar to “traditional” high and low‐light static cultures. The dynamic‐light grown cultures had pigment complements, which were very similar to each other but different from the static‐grown cultures. The maximum xanthophyll‐cycle pigment de‐epoxidation state attainable under saturating light was equal for all four treatments. Induction of fluorescence quenching was significantly faster in the static‐grown cultures, while xanthophyll‐cycle de‐epoxidation rates did not show as much variation. Minimum irradiances for xanthophyll‐cycle induction were correlated to average growth irradiance. Taken as a whole, the results from this work suggest that dynamic light‐grown phytoplankton have a unique photosynthetic functionality that is different from static light‐grown phytoplankton. The significance of these observations in the context of realistic light fields, and the photosynthetic response capabilities of algae grown under them will be discussed.