ii8 



THE METABOLISM OF ALGAE 



TABLE 11 

 COMPOSITION OF Chlorella pyrenoidosa growtst under different 



CONDITIONS 



(data from ref. 264) 



The proportion which fatty acids form of the total lipide 

 increases as the lipide content of C. pyrenoidosa increases 

 and there is a corresponding decrease in the proportion of 

 unsaponifiable material (Table 12). Chlorophyll degrada- 

 tion products account for about half the water-soluble 

 saponification products from the samples with the lower 



TABLE 12 



ANALYSIS OF LIPIDE FRACTIONS OF SAMPLES OF Chlorella 



pyrenoidosa of different total lipide contents ^^^ 



total lipide contents but the chlorophyll content of Chlorella 

 decreases rapidly as the lipide content increases. As the 

 lipide content of Chlorella increases there is a decrease in 

 the degree of unsaturation of the fatty acids. ^^* 



The conclusion based upon microscopical examination 

 that fat accumulation is characteristic of certain classes of 

 algae is borne out by the little quantitative information that 



