Cyclic condensed metaphosphates and linear polyphosphates in brown and red algae

The occurrence of linear condensed polyphosphates and cyclic condensed metaphosphates was studied by means of pulse-labeling with 32P-orthophosphate (3--5h) in a number of Phaeophyceae species: Pylaiella litoralis, Ilea fascia, Ectocarpus siliculosus and also Rhodophyceae species: Ceramiumdeslongchampsii, C. rubrum, Rhodomela confervoides, Porphyridium purpureum and P. aerugineum. Two-dimensional cellulose thin layer chromatography revealed that in all species studied 32P-radioactivity was generally present in all oligopolyphosphates containing 2 to 7 phosphate residues, in cyclic metaphosphates (tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexametaphosphates) and in high-molecular-weight condensed phosphates which remained at the starting point. Among the low-molecular-weight condensed inorganic phosphates the trimetaphosphate had a significantly higher specific activity than the other oligophosphates which were separated on the chromatography plates as measured by the direct scanning with a Geiger-Muller counter. The phosphate uptake strongly depends on the internal pool of reserve phosphates of the algae cells. The 32P-orthophosphate incorporation of the cells is low and sluggish when growning in a synthetic medium or in sea water. Accordingly 32P appeared preferentially in the low-molecular-weight fractions of condensed phosphates since the storage phosphates were not yet used. After previous incubation in a P-free culture medium of the algae the 32P was rather rapidly incorporated and was found mostly in the high-molecular-weight condensed phosphates. During MAK-chromatography the high-molecular-weight fractions were eluted together with the nucleic acids (tRNA and DNA) while most of the low-molecular-weight fractions left the column immediately on elution.