Purification, Spectral analysis and characterization of r-phycoerythrin pigment from Solieria robusta (Greville) Kylin
Dibyendu Sekhar Mahanty
Plant Physiology, Plant Biochemistry and Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory P.G. Dept of Botany, Barasat Government College Kolkata - India dibyendu.mahanty@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Principal feature underlying energy transduction by the photoautotrophs on earth is harvesting of light energy by specific pigments. The harvested energy is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis. Photosynthetic pigments are two types - primary (Chlorophylls) and accessory (carotenes and xanthophylls). To use a greater part of the light spectrum aquatic algal members evolved a diverse array of pigment system to use various wavelengths of light efficiently. Phycobiliproteins are a family of light-harvesting pigment protein complexes widely found in the chloroplasts of red algae and cyanobacteria20. R-phycoerythrins (R-PEs) are the most abundant phycobiliproteins in the marine red algae. R-PE from Solieria robusta was purified using Sephadex G-200 column followed by spectral analysis using UV-VIS spectrophotometer. Signature absorbance pattern of rphycoerythrin pigment were observed in active fractions which enabled fast separation and purification of the pigment. Solieria robusta from the Arabian Sea coast of Okha, Gujarat, India can be a potent source of R-PE.