THE PRODUCTION OF APOSYMBIOTIC HYDRA BY THE PHOTODESTRUCTION OF GREEN HYDRA ZOOCHLORELLAE

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Abstract
The Florida [USA] strain, but not the English strain of green hydra, are bleached by light at 620 watts/m2. English strain animals are bleached at 620 watts/m2 in the presence of DCMU [N-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-N-dimethyl urea] a photosynthetic inhibitor) which also increases the bleaching effect in the Florida hydra. English animals are also bleached by irradiation with 1900 watts/m2. Aposymbiotic clones that remain alga-free may be grown from bleached animals of both Florida and English strains. Florida strain hydra containing English algae are bleached at 620 watts/m2 but English hydra containing Florida algae are not. The bleaching of Florida hydra takes place with light occurring in red region of the visible spectrum and probably involves the photodestruction of the photosynthetic system of the algal symbionts. The bleaching of green hydra ultimately results from the removal of symbionts from the host digestive cells.