The carbon-concentrating mechanism of the extremophilic red microalga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

ABSTRACT: Cyanidioschyzon merolae is an extremophilic red microalga which grows in low-pH, high-temperature environments. The basis of C. merolae's environmental resilience is not fully characterized, including whether this alga uses a carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM). To determine if C. merolae uses a CCM, we measured CO₂ uptake parameters using an open-path infra-red gas analyzer and compared them to values expected in the absence of a CCM. These measurements and analysis indicated that C. merolae had the gas-exchange characteristics of a CCM-operating organism: low CO₂ compensation point, high affinity for external CO₂, and minimized rubisco oxygenation. The biomass δ¹³C of C. merolae was also consistent with a CCM. The apparent presence of a CCM in

SUBMITTER: Steensma AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10154280 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature