Responses of<b><i>Emiliania huxleyi</i></b>(Prymnesiophyceae) to step changes in photon flux density

A non-calcifying strain (Ply 92) of Emiliania huxleyi (Lohman) Hay et Mohler, was subjected to reciprocal step changes of photon flux density (PFD) between 50 and 800 μmol photons m-2 s-1 to establish the timescales of photoacclimation. Photoacclimation in E. huxleyi involved adjustment of cellular light harvesting pigment contents, but not cellular ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RuBisCO) or cellular RNA contents. There was considerable variability in both the magnitude and the rate of the response of physiological and biophysical variables to the step changes in PFD. The slowest response was observed in cellular chl a content, and the chl a/carbon ratio. Acclimation of these variables appeared to be due to dilution of pigment pools rather than to pigment turnover. Changes in the chl a-specific light absorption coefficient accompanied changes in cellular chl a content. Following the shifts in PFD, the efficiency of excitation energy transfer from the photosystem II antennae to reaction centres II (RCII), as assessed from F'v/F'm, adjusted within 12 h. The efficiency of charge separation within RCII, as assessed from F'q/F'v, adjusted on a similar timescale. The overall efficiency of photosystem II (PSII), as assessed from F'q/F'm, showed a step response to the change of PFD due to inverse changes in F'v/F'm, and F'q/F'v. Changes in non-photochemical excitation energy quenching were correlated with the relative and absolute abundance of the xanthophyll cycle pigments diadinoxanthin and diatoxanthin, which appeared to be reversibly interconverted with fucoxanthin. Thus, acclimation to PFD involved co-ordinated adjustment of the quantum efficiency of RCII, the efficiency of excitation energy transfer from the light-harvesting pigment bed to RCII, and cellular light absorption on overlapping time scales. © 2009 British Phycological Society.