Pigment Composition of Chlorophyll-Protein Complexes and Seasonal Variations of Pigments in the Brown Algae Hizikia fusiformis

Abstract

The pigment composition of chlorophyll-protein complexes (CPC, zones I — IV) separated by SDS-PAGE from the brown macroalgae Hizikia fusiformis was determined by using HPLC. The HPLC pigment profiles of chloroplasts showed the presence of chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll c (Chl c), fucoxanthin, β-carotene, and three minor xanthophylls. While Chi c was not found in zone I, in CPC, and β-carotene was present in both zone I and zone II, and fucoxanthin, neofucoxanthin, diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin were found in all of zones I-IV. In the brown orange zone IV, the molar ratio of Chl α/fucoxanthin was the lowest value of all zones, and Chl a, Chl c and fucoxanthin were present in a molar ratio of 3.3: 1: 2.7. The yield of chloroplasts reached the maximum value in August, and since then, showed a tndency to decrease according to the growth of H. fusiformis. In fronds and chloroplasts, the molar ratio of accessory pigments per Chl a became maximum in March. We demonstrated that zone IV contained over three times as much accessory pigments as other CPC, and that it was a main light-harvesting complex in H. fusiformis. Furthermore, we found that molar ratios of xanthophylls and Chl c per Chl a were variable throughout the period of growth of H. fusiformis. © 1990, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.