Respiration in aquatic photolithotrophs

This chapter discusses respiratory processes in phytoplankton to demonstrate the range of respiratory processes found in phytoplankton, describe the functions of these individual pathways, and explore their interactions. Phytoplankton organisms have core respiratory processes common to most planktonic organisms; these reactions occur in the dark and, to varying extents, in the light. These organisms also experience oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production reactions related to their photosynthetic apparatus. Two of these, the Mehler-peroxidase reaction and the oxidase function of ribulose biphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RUBISCO), are light dependent; a third, chlororespiration, occurs mainly in the dark.