Influence of carbon supply on the circadian rhythmicity of photosynthesis and its stimulation by blue light in Ectocarpus siliculosus: clues to the mechanism of inorganic carbon acquisition in lower brown algae

Stimulation or light-saturated rates of photosynthesis in Ectocarpus siliculosus (Dillwyn) Lyngb. by blue light was eliminated by increasing dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) or by lowering pH in natural seawater. The amplitude of the circadian rhythm of photosynthesis was also diminished under these conditions, and the pH compensation points in a closed system were higher in the presence of blue light and during the circadian day. These observations suggest that blue light and the circadian clock regulate the activity of a carbon acquisition system in these plants. The inhibitor of external carbonic anhydrase, acetazolamide, reduced overall rates of photosynthesis by only about 30%, but ethoxyzolamide suppressed the circadian rhythm of photosynthesis almost completely and markedly reduced the duration of responses to blue light pulses. Similar patterns were obtained when photosynthesis was measured in strongly limiting DIC concentrations (0–0.5 mol m−3). Since blue light stimulated photosynthesis under these conditions of strong carbon limitation, we suggest that blue light activates the release of CO2 from an internal CO2 store. We propose a metabolic pathway with similarities to that of CAM plants. Non-photosynthetic fixation leads to the accumulation of a storage metabolite. The circadian clock and blue light control the mobilization of CO2 at the site of decarboxylation of this metabolite. In the presence of continuous blue light the pathway is proposed to cycle and act as a pump for CO2 into the chloroplasts. This hypothesis helps to explain a number of previously reported peculiarities of brown algal photosynthesis.