Thalassiosira antarctica: vegetative and resting stage chemical composition of an ice-related marine diatom

✍ Scribed by G. J. Doucette; G. A. Fryxell

• Book ID: 104753346
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 621 KB
• Volume: 78
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00392964

✦ Synopsis

A comparative investigation of the chemical composition of Thalassiosira antarctica vat. antarctica vegetative and resting stages revealed C:N and C:chl a ratios to be lower in vegetative cells. These trends primarily reflect vegetative levels of C/cell below, and N/cell and chl a/cell levels above those of spores. There was a change in chemical composition with the initial formation of resting spores, and spores continued to modify their composition while maintained in a cyclic light/dark regime for about one and one half weeks. Most notable was a net increase in carbon and chlorophyll a per cell. Spores then subjected to darkness for over one week appeared to retain most of the carbon and chlorophyll a previously synthesized. These findings support the idea that resting spores enhance the survival capabilities of a species under adverse conditions.