Summary
Cryptomonas rufescens is an alga which can adapt itself to environmental variations created by nitrogen deficiency and high levels of illumination. The cell ultrastructure changes and starch and storage lipids accumulate in the cytoplasm. Progressively, the cell reaches a resting stage. The differentiation of a complex cell wall leads to cyst formation. This change obtained through controlled conditions, can be associated with anin vivo minimal value of the ratio phycoerythrin/chlorophylls. In the two treatments the amounts of chlorophyll A and phycoerythrin decrease, while the amounts of chlorophyll C and carotenoids appear more stable. At the same time, the plastid ultrastructure changes, the internal thylakoids break down and are disorganized, while the peripheral thylakoids become narrower in correlation with their phycoerythrin content.
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Lichtlé, C. Effects of nitrogen deficiency and light of high intensity onCryptomonas rufescens (Cryptophyceae) . Protoplasma 101, 283–299 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01276969
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01276969