Previous studies have shown that isolates of Chattonella marina from Australia and Japan exhibit differences in tolerance to high intensities of visible light. Here we show that the Australian strain of C. marina produces around five times more UV-absorbing mycosporine amino acids (MAAs) than the Japanese strain. This corresponds with 66% increased growth by the Australian strain under UVB exposure compared to no UV exposure. The MAA mycosporine-glycine, which reportedly acts as an antioxidant, was found in high quantity (110 fg cell-1) in the Australian but was absent in the Japanese strain. In contrast, changes in the concentration of violaxanthin and zeaxanthin per cell were 4.7-4.8 times greater in the Japanese relative to the Australian strain suggesting that the Japanese strain uses a xanthophyll cycle to moderate inhibition by high photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) irradiance. Increased MAA production under high irradiance was also observed in other Australian strains of Chattonella, but not noted in other Japanese strains suggesting ecophenotypic adaptation due to differing environmental conditions. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Fisheries sciences
Research Field:	Fish pests and diseases
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Coastal and estuarine systems and management
Objective Field:	Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in coastal and estuarine environments
UTAS Author:	Marshall, JA (Dr Judith Marshall)
UTAS Author:	Newman, SJ (Mr Stuart Newman)
ID Code:	25390
Year Published:	2002
Web of Science® Times Cited:	28
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2002-08-01
Last Modified:	2011-08-02
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