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Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Autofluorescence Imaging to Evaluate Red Algae Physiology
Published on: February 17, 2023
Characterization of a newly isolated freshwater Eustigmatophyte alga capable of utilizing far-red light as its sole
Benjamin M Wolf1,2,3, Dariusz M Niedzwiedzki2, Nikki Cecil M Magdaong1,2,3
1Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Dr., St. Louis, MO, USA.
Abstract:
Oxygenic phototrophs typically utilize visible light (400-700 nm) to drive photosynthesis. However, a large fraction of the energy in sunlight is contained in the far-red region, which encompasses light beyond 700 nm. In nature, certain niche environments contain high levels of this far-red light due to filtering by other phototrophs, and in these environments, organisms with photosynthetic antenna systems adapted to absorbing far-red light are able to thrive. We used selective far-red light conditions to isolate such organisms in environmental samples. One cultured organism, the Eustigmatophyte alga Forest Park Isolate 5 (FP5), is able to absorb far-red light using a chlorophyll (Chl) a-containing antenna complex, and is able to grow under solely far-red light. Here we characterize the antenna system from this organism, which is able to shift the absorption of Chl a to >705 nm.
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