Effect of naphthalene and aqueous crude oil extracts on the green flagellate Chlamydomonas angulosa. II. Photosynthesis and the uptake and release of naphthalene

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Abstract
Comparisons have been made of the effects of crude oil extracts and naphthalene on the photosynthesis of the alga Chlamydomonas angulosa. The addition of the hydrocarbon naphthalene to C. angulosa cultures causes an immediate and almost complete loss of photosynthetic capacity. When cells that have been incubated in closed systems containing naphthalene-saturated media are transferred to open systems which allow loss by volatilization of naphthalene, the rate of recovery of photosynthesis is inversely proportional to the length of incubation in the closed system with naphthalene. Incubation of cells in open systems with media containing aqueous crude oil extracts has no significant effect on their photosynthetic capacity as compared with that of cells incubated in control media. However, the photosynthetic capacity is decreased when cells are incubated in closed systems with media containing aqueous crude oil extracts. This is followed by a gradual recovery with time of incubation after treatment in the closed systems.Experiments using labelled naphthalene indicate that C. angulosa cells accumulate naphthalene from the medium in closed systems for up to 7 days. When such cells are transferred to fresh media not containing naphthalene, there is an almost immediate loss of the aromatic hydrocarbon from the cells. However, when cells are retained in their original medium after opening the culture system to allow naphthalene to escape, the decrease in naphthalene content per cell appears dependent upon resumption of cell division and occurs in a stepwise manner, which suggests cell retention rather than an actual loss of naphthalene to the medium.

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