Studies to settle the mystery whether chlorophyll e exists in nature

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K19339
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 44:Biology at cellular to organismal levels, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Miyashita Hideaki 京都大学, 人間・環境学研究科, 教授 (50323746)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: クロロフィルｅ / 黄緑藻類 / クロロフィラーゼ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we aimed to solve the mystery of the existence of chlorophyll (Chl) e. We attempted to test three hypotheses: (1) Chl e may be a by-product during the pigment extraction; (2) Chl e may have been produced not by the xanthophycean algae themselves but by other algae attached to them; and (3) Chl e may be an induced pigment under certain light conditions. As a result, it became smaller the possibility that Chl e is induced by the acclimation to light quality. However, we could not rule out the possibility that Chl e was originated from other algae attached on the xanthophycean algae. On the other hand, the studies on chlorophyllase activity of microalgae has increased the possibility that Chl e is a by-product generated during the pigment extraction.

Free Research Field

藻類学、光合成学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究期間中にChl eの再発見には至らなかったため，当初期待していたようなインパクトはない。一方で，光質に対する順化によって黄緑藻類の個々の色素の相対的含量や細胞形態・生活環が変化することが明らかになったこと，さらに，微細藻類におけるクロロフィラーゼ活性の有無及びその強弱が，藻類の系統とは関係なく株依存的であり，また，藻類の生育段階や光照射の有無等によって変化しなかったことなど，藻類学の発展に貢献できる新たな知見が得られた。