The light-harvesting system of a Micromonas species (Prasinophyceae): the combination of three different chlorophyll species in one single chlorophyll–protein complex

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Abstract
Micromonas sp. (Plymouth no. 27 marine) was grown in batch cultures at low irradiance (3.4 W/m2). The light-harvesting complex was isolated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and characterized by its absorption spectrum, molecular weight, thermostability and composition of photosynthetic pigments. The absorption spectrum of the isolated protein complex indicates that, besides chlorophyll a and b, another green pigment is bound to the protein. The apparent molecular weight of the light-harvesting protein of Micromonas was found to be comparable to other green and yellow–green complexes. The stability of the isolated protein to detergents and high temperature is apparently higher than in other groups of eucaryotic algae. The pigment analysis by high performance liquid chromatography shows that the light-harvesting chlorophyll–protein contains a complex pattern of pigments, which is unusual for green algae. The absorption spectra of the third green pigment and its retention time in reverse phase chromatography are identical with chlorophyll c. The results indicate that the biochemical analysis of the light-harvesting complex of Micromonas can initiate new discussion of its taxonomic position and the phylogeny of eucaryotic algae.

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