The Effects of Nitrogen Deficiency on Pigments and Lipids of Cyanobacteria

Abstract

In contrast to what happens in higher plants and eukaryotic algae, a nitrogen deficiency during growth causes a change in pigment composition but no significant changes in whole cell lipid and fatty acid composition of the two Cyanobacteria, Pseudanabaena sp. (strain M2) and Oscilla-toria spkndida (strain L3). Nitrogen deficiency does not affect the cellular content in chlorophyll a, but it causes a selective loss in phycobiliproteins; carotenoid content increases with phycocyanin depletion. The major cellular lipids in both Cyanobacteria studied are monogalactosyl diacyl-glycerol, digalactosyl diacylglycerol, sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol, and