IMMUNOLOGICAL QUANTITATION OF A POLYSACCHARIDE FORMED BY EMILIANIA-HUXLEYI

The principle of ELISA was adapted to measure quantitatively the conce ntration of an extracellular polysaccharide of the unicellular alga Em iliania huxleyi. This so called ''coccolith polysaccharide'' could be detected at concentrations as low as 0.02 mg 1(-1). The concentration of coccolith polysaccharide was determined in the supernatant of activ ely growing calcifying and naked batch cultures of E. huxleyi and amou nted to 0.55 and 0.87 pg cell(-1), respectively. In these cultures, ma ximum concentrations of 0.26 and 10.1 mg 1(-1) coccolith polysaccharid e, respectively, were reached in the late stationary phase of growth. These results suggest that in a bloom of E. huxleyi, the dissolved coc colith polysaccharide makes a modest contribution to the pool of disso lved organic carbon (DOG), and forms a small part of the E. huxleyi pr imary production.