POLYPHOSPHATE ACCUMULATION IN SULFUR-STARVED CELLS OF RHODELLA-MACULATA

Rhodella cells grown without added sulphate (—S) divide at a slower rate and secrete sulphated polysaccharide into the medium at a slower rate than control cells. Light and electron microscopy of 20 day — S grown cells show the presence of large numbers of membrane-bound cytoplasmic inclusions with the staining characteristics of polyphosphates (PP). Chemical extraction reveals increases in low and high mol. wt PP in the —S grown cells. The high molecular weight PP has been extracted by the phenol detergent technique and separated from nucleic acids by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. © 1979 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.