A Carotenoid Characteristic of Chlorophycean Seaweeds Living in Deep Coastal Waters

Abstract

Absorption spectra of intact thalli and their pigment compositions of 11 spp. of chlorophycean seaweeds [Monostroma nitidum, Enteromorpha compressa, Chactomorpha crassa, Cladophora sp. and Ulva pertusa] were investigated. The in vivo absorption spectra of 6 spp. including Ulva japonica, Cladophora wrightiana, Valonia macrophysa, Codium adhaerens, C. mamillosa and C. fragile showed a broad but distinct peak around 540 nm. The green light-absorbing pigment in these algae was chromatographically identified as siphonaxanthin. The occurrence of this pigment in the deep-water species seemed rather to emphasize its ecological importance than its correlation to the algal taxonomy.