o-PHENANTHROLINE AND DERIVATIVES OF VITAMIN K AS STABILIZERS OF PHOTOREDUCTION IN SCENEDESMUS

It is known that with increasing concentrations of hydroxylamine the rate of photoreduction in the alga Scenedesmus drops to about one-half of the normal rate. From then on photoreduction remains insensitive to hydroxylamine. The present experiments prove that this strange effect is not specific for hydroxylamine. It can be produced with substances having quite different chemical properties, such as o-phenanthroline, 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (vitamin K), or 2-oxy-3-methyl-naphthoquinone (phthiocol). Once the rate of photoreduction has been brought down to the limit of exactly one-half by a sufficient dose of any one of these substances, the reaction is also stabilized against reversion under the influence of strong light. At saturation intensities the rate of the stabilized photoreduction may be several times that at which the unpoisoned cells revert to photosynthesis. The ratio of one-half between the rates of the stabilized and the normal photoreduction is found at very low light intensities. This indicates a change in the photochemical process. Since the assimilatory quotient remains unaltered, it is the quantum yield which is cut in half under the influence of the poisons. To explain these observations it is assumed that either just one-half of the primary photoproducts are lost, or that they react back entirely while causing a reduction of carbon dioxide in a way similar to that brought about by the oxyhydrogen reaction in the dark.