STIMULATORY EFFECT OF RED-LIGHT ON STARCH ACCUMULATION IN A MARINE GREEN-ALGA, CHLAMYDOMONAS SP STRAIN MGA161

A marine green alga, Chlamydomonas sp. strain MGA161 was cultivated un der illumination of red and white lights. The growth rate under red li ght illumination was almost the same as that in the basic conditions u nder white light illumination, but red light-grown cells accumulated a lmost twice as much starch as white light-grown cells. Although there was a slight decrease in carbonic anhydrase activity, red light-illumi nated cells had almost 2.3 times the fructose-1,6-diphosphatase activi ty of white light-illuminated cells. Red light might stimulate starch accumulation by increasing the amounts of enzymes related to carbon fi xation through the phytochrome system. Cells grown under red light deg raded 1.6 times as much starch and produced 1.7 times as much hydrogen and 1.6 times as much ethanol compared with cells grown under white l ight during 12 h of dark anaerobic fermentation.