Iron, Chelation and the Growth of Marine Phytoplankton I. Growth Kinetics and Chlorophyll Production in Cultures of the Euryhaline Flagellate Dunalliela Tertiolecta under Iron-Limiting Conditions

Abstract

One of the major advances made in the development of media for the culture of marine phytoplankton was the introduction of chelating agents as a means of controlling the concentrations of the trace metals necessary for plant growth; an excellent historical survey of this field has been provided by Provasoli, McLaughlin and Droop (1957). Much of the discussion concerning the role of the chelating agents has centred upon the maintenance of the iron in solution at concentrations adequate for plant nutrition (Droop, 1961; Provasoli, 1963; Johnston, 1964). In the absence of chelators, the pH of the culture media would result in almost complete precipitation of the iron.