Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (38)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pinckney, J.L.
Right arrow Articles by Hurley, J.P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Pinckney, J.L.
Right arrow Articles by Hurley, J.P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH | VOLUME 18 | NUMBER 10 | PAGES 1867-1880 | 1996
© Oxford University Press

research-article

Flow scintillation counting of 14C-labeled microalgal photosynthetic pigments

J.L. Pinckney, D.F. Millie1, K.E. Howe, H.W. Paerl and J.P. Hurley2

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Institute of Marine Sciences 3431 Arendell Street, Morehead City, NC 28557 1US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center 1100 Robert E. Lee Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70124 2Bureau of Research, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 1350 Femrite Drive, Monona, WI53716 and Water Chemistry Program, University of Wisconsin 660 North Park Street, Madison, WI 53706, USA

Received on December 19, 1995; accepted on May 13, 1996 Photopigment radiolabcling, a useful method for measuring the in situ carbon-specific growth rates of microalgae, is based on the determination of synthesis rates of chemosystematic (i.e. specific for microalgal phylogenetic groups) chlorophylls and carotenoids using photosynthetically assimilated 14C as a radiotracer. The reliability of this method depends on accurate measurements of the 14C-specific activity of individual photopigments. Typically, photopigments are separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fraction collection of individual peaks, followed by further purification and standard scintillation counting. To simplify analyses, we evaluated in-line flow scintillation counting to determine its applicability and reliability for measuring the activity of radio-labeled photopigments. Incubations were conducted using both pure cultures and natural phyto-plankton samples. The radiochemical purity of photopigments was determined by extract acidification (10% HC1) to transform chlorophylls into degradation products. Purity was also checked by comparing absorbance spectra with purified standards. Although 14C-labeled colorless compounds are a common feature in radiograms, these compounds do not co-elute with photopigments using our HPLC protocol. Flow scintillation counting, coupled with a highly selective HPLC protocol, provides an efficient, reliable and feasible alternative to fraction collection/repurification methods for measuring the 14C-specific activity of microalgal photosynthetic pigments.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
L. Delizo, W. O. Smith, and J. Hall
Taxonomic composition and growth rates of phytoplankton assemblages at the Subtropical Convergence east of New Zealand
J. Plankton Res., August 1, 2007; 29(8): 655 - 670.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Appl. Environ. Microbiol.Home page
K. D. Goodwin, R. Tokarczyk, F. C. Stephens, and E. S. Saltzman
Description of Toluene Inhibition of Methyl Bromide Biodegradation in Seawater and Isolation of a Marine Toluene Oxidizer That Degrades Methyl Bromide
Appl. Envir. Microbiol., July 1, 2005; 71(7): 3495 - 3503.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
E. B. Ornolfsdottir, S. E. Lumsden, and J. L. Pinckney
Phytoplankton community growth-rate response to nutrient pulses in a shallow turbid estuary, Galveston Bay, Texas
J. Plankton Res., March 1, 2004; 26(3): 325 - 339.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J PLANKTON RESHome page
T. Bergmann, T. L. Richardson, H. W. Paerl, J. L. Pinckney, and O. Schofield
Synergy of light and nutrients on the photosynthetic efficiency of phytoplankton populations from the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina
J. Plankton Res., September 1, 2002; 24(9): 923 - 933.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.