PARENT SESSION
Posters P4Aa Chlorophyll and bilin based antenna systems. Abstracts (239-271)

Chlorophyll d is not of red algal origin but from an epiphytic cyanobacterium. Akio Murakami^*,1, Hideaki Miyashita², Mineo Iseki³, Kyoko Adachi⁴, Mamoru Mimuro², ¹ Kobe University Research Center for Inland Seas, Awaji-cho, Hyogo, JAPAN² 2Hall of Global Environmental Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto, JAPAN³ PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, JAPAN⁴ Marine Biotechnology Institute, Kamaishi, Iwate, JAPAN

ABSTRACT- Photosynthetic pigments are a key index for taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of photosynthetic organisms. Chlorophyll d (3-desvinyl-3-formyl Chlorophyll a) was discovered in marine macrophytic red algae by Manning and Strain (1943) but its presence was not certain, unlike chlorophyll a and phycobilins. Furthermore, there remains confusion regarding the continuity of biosynthesis. Thus, Chlorophyll d in red algae has been enigmatic to date. We verified that the putative Chlorophyll d of red algae originates from the epiphytic cyanobacterium Acaryochloris sp. srtain Awaji on red algal thalli, and settled the chlorophyll distribution in photosynthetic organisms (Murakami et al. 2004 Science 303:1633). We have thus solved the 60-year-old enigma since the discovery of Chlorophyll d . Acaryochloris, which is unique in its use of far-red light and its habitat, is widely distributed in unsuspected niches and is suggested to contribute to primary production in the coastal water.

KEY WORDS: Red algae, Acaryochloris, Chlorophyll d, Cyanobacteria