Oxygen Uptake and Photosynthesis of the Red Macroalga, Chondrus crispus, in Seawater: Effects of Oxygen Concentration.

With an experimental system developed for aquatic plants using the mass spectrometry technique and infrared gas analysis of CO(2), we studied the responses to various O(2) concentrations of gas exchanges with the red macroalga Chondrus crispus S. The results were as follows. (a) Irrespective of the CO(2) concentration, net photosynthesis was O(2) sensitive with a 45 to 70% stimulation at 2% O(2). Even with high CO(2), a significant Warburg effect was detected. (b) Although photosynthesis was CO(2) sensitive, O(2) photoconsumption was only weakly affected by CO(2) even at high CO(2) where it was still photodependent. (c) O(2) photoconsumption was always sensitive to O(2) concentration whatever the CO(2) concentration, but with O(2) exceeding 20% the kinetics disagreed with the Michaelis-Menten model, with saturation being reached more rapidly. With various CO(2) concentrations, the apparent K(m) (O(2)) ranged from 4 to 16% O(2) with a relatively constant V(max) (O(2)) of about one-third the V(max) (CO(2)). (d) Dark respiration seemed to be O(2) insensitive. These results are discussed in relation to the nature of the processes able to consume O(2) in the light, and seem to be consistent with a significant involvement of a Mehlertype reaction.