FATTY ACID DYNAMICS IN THALASSIOSIRA PSEUDONANA (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE): IMPLICATIONS FOR P HYSIOLOGICAL ECOLOGY

The growth dry weight, fatty acid weight and fatty acid composition of two clones of Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle & Heimdal were measured under several growth conditions. Determinations of total cellular fatty acids were made using chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Both clones had the same fatty acids, dominated by C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C16:3, C16:4, C18:4 and C20:5, though in different relative amounts. Fatty acids typically represented 5–10% the dry weight of a cell during log Phase growth and up to 22% during stationary Phase. The C16 fatty acids of both clones changed as the cultures aged, though much more markedly in the Sargasso Sea done (13–1) than in the estuarine one (3H). The C16:0 and C16:1 acids of both clones declined sharply in the dark and were replenished in the light. Cells maintained in constant illumination, but with no cell division. produced large quantities of these acids. Cells of done 13–1 treated with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) initially grew more slowly than control cells, weighed more, and had higher relative amounts of C16:0 and C16:1. Fatty acid studies may provide useful indicators of ecologically important energy reserves and membrane adaptations in the algae.