PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENT COMPOSITION OF MARINE ANGIOSPERMS: PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION OF MEDITERRANEAN SEAGRASSES

摘要

Pigments were investigated in the Mediterranean marine angiosperms Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa, Zostera noltii and Halophila stipulacea. Samples were collected and analyzed from shallow and deep water habitats. Acetone extracts of leaves were analyzed by absorption spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC). The marine angiosperms examined possessed: β,β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, violaxanthin, neoxanthin and other minor pigments. Two unidentified pigments with the same retention time as two "siphonaxanthin-type" pigments were isolated from the green alga Flabella petiolata and are relatively abundant in the species P. oceanica and H. stipulacea. Pigment data indicate a possible biochemical adaptation to different light regimes in seagrass species that can colonize deeper habitats.