Sissel Norgård

Algal carotenoids and chemotaxonomy

A qualitative and quantitative examination of the carotenoids of pure cultures of four marine microalgae, including Chroomonas salina, Vaucheria sessilis and Coccolithus huxleyi is reported. The latter contained a new, major carotenoid, and not fucoxanthin.

Chloroplast pigments and algal systematics

Abstract The chloroplast pigments of one typical representative ( Pleurochloris magna ) and two potential members (clone BSG Sticho and an isolate called Tunis) of the new class Eustigmatophyceae have been examined by modern methods including mass spectrometry. The three cultures all exhibited the same chloroplast pigments: Chlorophyll a , but no b or c , δ-carotene (I), canthaxanthin (II), violaxanthin (IIIa), and esterified vaucheriaxanthin (IVb) plus some free vaucheriaxanthin (IVa). Furanoid rearrangement of the epoxidic carotenoids complicated the analysis. The unique pigment complement hereby indicated for Eustigmatophyceae is clearly different from the pigment distribution patterns reported for Chlorophyceae and Xanthophyceae.

Three dodecaene C50-carotenoids from halophilic bacteria

Abstract The isolation by chromatography (CC, TLC, HPLC) and characterization by spectroscopic (UV-Vis, IR, MS, 1 HNMR, CD) and chemical (silylation, methylation, dehydration) methods of three new minor conjugated dodecaene C 50 -carotenoids from Haloferax volcanii (each 2% of total carotenoids) and Halobacterium salinarium (one present) are reported. The data support the structures 3′,4′-dihydromonoanhydrobacterioruberin (C 50 H 76 O 3 ), 3′,4′-epoxymonoanhydrobacterioruberin (C 50 H 74 O 4 ) and a 3′,4′-dihydromonohydrobacterioruberin derivative named haloxanthin (C 50 H 74 O 4 ) with a novel peroxide end group.