Ubiquity and quantitative significance of detoxification catabolism of chlorophyll associated with protistan herbivory.

ABSTRACT: Chlorophylls are essential components of the photosynthetic apparati that sustain all of the life forms that ultimately depend on solar energy. However, a drawback of the extraordinary photosensitizing efficiency of certain chlorophyll species is their ability to generate harmful singlet oxygen. Recent studies have clarified the catabolic processes involved in the detoxification of chlorophylls in land plants, but little is understood about these strategies in aquatic ecosystem. Here, we report that a variety of heterotrophic protists accumulate the chlorophyll a catabolite 13(2),17(3)-cyclopheophorbide a enol (cPPB-aE) after their ingestion of algae. This chlorophyll derivative is nonfluorescent in solution, and its inability to generate singlet oxygen in vitro qualifies it as a detoxifie

SUBMITTER: Kashiyama Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3491467 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature