Hi every one
Recently we bought some permanent microscopic slide of different species of cyanobacteria. I have a question about the slide of spirulina. Does anyone know that why some of filaments of spirulina are in red and some of them are blue at the same slide? Is it because of the special staining? Is it because of the age? thanks alot
Spirulina is a blue green alga which contains the pigments C phycocyanin (blue in colour) and C pycoerythrin (red in colour). Since the C phycocyanin dominate over C phycoerythrin in blue green algae hence they appear blue green in colour. However, under certain circumstances like change in wave length of light there is increased synthesis of C pycoerythrin imparting red colour to blue green algae.
Please check the following link.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51638180_Effect_of_light_quality_on_the_C-phycoerythrin_production_in_marine_cyanobacteria_Pseudanabaena_sp_isolated_from_Gujarat_coast_India
Article Effect of light quality on the C-phycoerythrin production in...
Actually, I don’t know how to make the slides. We only bought the slides for teaching to students.
though there are blue and red pigments in Cyanobacteria and a blue colour gets masked by purple red due to changes in wavelength (chromatic adaptation) , however, in the preset case it is just look like material stained in two different stains and mixed. Change in colour due to wavelength difference is not like this as appears in the slide.
Dear Dr. Bahareh,
I think this permanent slide might have been prepared after differential staining eg: Gram stain or counter staining. Since it is a permanent slide we exactly don't know anything regarding the source of original culture.
Gram staining is not used for blue green algae(Cyanobacteria) as all of them are Gram negative.
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