Temperature dependent changes in absorption and fluorescence properties of the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans

Temperature dependent changes in absorbance and fluorescence of chlorophyll a (Chl a) were analyzed in membrane fragments and in a Chl-protein complex reconstituted with lipids isolated from the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans. Absorbance versus temperature curves measured at 656 nm showed an inflection point at 23-24°C and at 14-16°C in the membrane fragments prepared from A. nidulans cells, grown at 39° and 25°C, respectively. Temperature-induced absorbance changes measured at 680 and 696 nm did not show clear break points. The presence of lipids was essential in order to see a clear maximum in the fluorescence versus temperature curve of Chl a in a Chl-protein complex. It is suggested that a specific form of Chl a may be associated with lipids in the thylakoid membranes and that this form of Chl a may be responsible for temperature-induced absorbance and fluorescence yield changes in this cyanobacterium.