Assessment of a microscopic photobleaching technique for measuring the spectral absorption efficiency of individual phytoplankton cells
Measurements of the absorptance of photosynthetic pigments in individual phytoplankton cells were made using an epifluorescence microscope equipped with a spectrograph and CCD array detector. Correction for light loss due to scattering was achieved by bleaching the cells with intense light from a me...
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Published in | Journal of plankton research Vol. 24; no. 8; pp. 741 - 746 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford
Oxford University Press
01.08.2002
Oxford Publishing Limited (England) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Measurements of the absorptance of photosynthetic pigments in individual phytoplankton cells were made using an epifluorescence microscope equipped with a spectrograph and CCD array detector. Correction for light loss due to scattering was achieved by bleaching the cells with intense light from a mercury arc lamp, and using the bleached cells as a spectrophotometric blank. Absorption efficiency factors were calculated from knowledge of the geometrical cross-section of the cells obtained fromcalibrated video images acquired at the time of measurement. The single-cell efficiency factors were consistent with the average absorption efficiencies of cell suspensions measured using a spectrophotometer over most of the visible spectrum, but they were significantly lower below 420 nm. Cells of the diatom Cyclotella cryptica and the chlorophyte Chlorella salina showed clear spectral differences in spectral shape that could be related to taxonomic differences in pigment content, but absorption efficiency factors of approximately 0.4 at 675 nm were found for both species. |
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Bibliography: | istex:9857E9802C7A2D34A7529DB55F6CFD2859D63C50 local:0240741 PII:1464-3774 ark:/67375/HXZ-VJFPFRKT-H a.cunningham@strath.ac.uk ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0142-7873 1464-3774 1464-3774 |
DOI: | 10.1093/plankt/24.8.741 |