Abstract
The effects of nitrogen limitation on the ultrastructure of the unicellular cyanobacterium, Agmenellum quadruplicatum, were studied by thin sectioning transmission electron microscopy. Nitrogen became limiting for growth 14–15 h after transfer to nitrogen-limiting medium, but cultures retained full viability for at least 45 h. The c-phycocyanin: chlorophyll a ratio and cellular nitrogen content of the culture dropped rapidly after 14–15 h, as a progressive deterioration of major cell structures took place. Phycobilisomes were degraded first, followed by ribosomes and, then, thylakoid membranes. These structures were virtually depleted from the cells within 26 h. Intracellular polysaccharide accumulated in place of the normal cell structures throughout this period. Nitrogen limitation did not affect polyphosphate bodies, carboxysomes, lipid granules, the cell envelope, or the extra-cellular glycocalyx. All of the ultrastructural changes resulting from nitrogen limitation were reversed upon addition of nitrate to a starved culture. Most cell structures were restored within 3 h, and restoration was complete within 9 h.
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Stevens, S.E., Balkwill, D.L. & Paone, D.A.M. The effects of nitrogen limitation on the ultrastructure of the cyanobacterium Agmenellum quadruplicatum . Arch. Microbiol. 130, 204–212 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00459520
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00459520