The Fate of Absorbed Photons is Determined by the Species-Specific and Nutrient-Dependent Variability in Algae Grown Under Dynamic Light Conditions

Abstract

The balance of absorbed photons to the newly formed biomass under fluctuating (FL) and non-fluctuating (SL) light conditions have been analysed in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum in comparison of nutrient replete and nitrogen limited conditions and additionally, in the green alga Chlorella vulgaris. From the comparison of photosynthetic electron transport to carbon accumulation in the new biomass the metabolic costs of carbon assimilation have been quantified. It is evident that both, the quantum efficiency of carbon assimilation and the metabolic costs are species-species and nutrient dependent. Furthermore, they are not predictable from the photosynthesis rates with the consequence that modeling of primary production by bio-optical methods can mismatch the true energy storage in the biomass.