Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

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charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#1 Post by charlie g » Sun Jul 18, 2021 3:41 am

Hi all, to save on electric-pumping from our well water for my plants...I use rain-barrel collected water to water plants when things go dry. It's a chore to water various locations in 90 degree+ (F) dry spells...but doggie and I need exercise, and the plants appreciate our chore.

Late June/'21 we noticed a Haematococcus pluvialis bloom in our rain-barrels. Please enjoy our fingerlakes/US rain-barrel microscopy.


The intense sunlight and 90 degree+ (F) weather when we noticed this bloom had resting stages ( aplanospores) , and active zooid flagelate stages of protozoan H. pluvialis all red in color in the bloom to naked-eye. Simple scoop collected samples from the rain-barrel surface film...these cups of sample were red in color to naked eye.

After these water cups were left indoors ( doggie and I enjoy 'air-conditioning cool indoor temps')...the samples turned green to naked eye...charmingly reactive protozoans!

Wonderful microscopy world views come to mind from this rain-barrel microscopy. Safe and happy summer to all, charlie g
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charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#2 Post by charlie g » Sun Jul 18, 2021 4:09 am

Left at my indoor microscope bench..samples of this protozoan bloom clearly 'turned' green...placed next to freshly collected outdoor samples which were red in hue in the paper collection cups.
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charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#3 Post by charlie g » Sun Jul 18, 2021 4:52 am

Wonderful Haematococcus pluvialis moves about it's pigment : astazanthine by means of channels in this protozoans whole body chlotoplast...this antioxident pigment is incorporated in lipid droplets and moved to entire exterior of the cell body in about 11 minutes. The 'reversal to central locale' in the protozoan ( and thus green coloration to the organism and it's bloom appearance) takes longer time than 11 minutes.

An April/2018 study tracked the movements of pigments in this protozoan ( Haematococcus pluvialis)...only astazanthine was mobilized in liped droplets....none of the other pigments in this protozoan actively moved in response to sunlight.
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charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#4 Post by charlie g » Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:49 am

Our rain-barrels gave good doggie and I a profound microscopy world view...the reactive dance of pigments to protect our worlds predominate pigment class: chlorophylls, from destructive 'photo-bleaching'...and in the : "materials and methods " section of the April/2018 published findings on H. pluvialis ....wonderful notation of the Nikon inverted microscope : Eclipse Ti/Nikon Japan, using 100X objective...and using: Zeiss Germany /Axio-Plan II light microscopes.

In our human eyes, a vitamin-A derivative : '11-cis-retinal' is the photosensitive pigment...photochromic eyeglass lenses provide protection against harmful sunlight UV irradiation of our human eye pigment. The eye-glass protective reaction cited as 30-60 seconds...the reversal takes longer...hummm.
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charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#5 Post by charlie g » Sun Jul 18, 2021 6:00 am

I have closing thoughts...err..it's 2 am here...see you all soon charlie g

MicroBob
Posts: 3154
Joined: Sun Dec 25, 2016 9:11 am
Location: Northern Germany

Re: Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#6 Post by MicroBob » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:45 am

Hi Charlie,
interesting observation! If I find the time...

Bob

charlie g
Posts: 1831
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:54 pm

Re: Rain barrel microscopy, antioxidents for my plants.

#7 Post by charlie g » Sun Jul 18, 2021 3:14 pm

Hi Bob, I hope the flooding in Germany has not directly impacted your family.

The charm of the April 2018 paper on the dynamics of astazanthine pigments in H. pluvialis for me is how, with time-lapse light microscopy ( the Nikon inverted stand with 100X objective), and with unstained BF hyperspectral imaging ( the use of Zeiss Axio-Plan II stand)...live protozoa revealed so much of their sunlight protection astazanthine mechanism.

My 2/66 5th edition of Richard Roksabro Kudo's : "Protozoology" cites: 'L.P.Johnson in 1939 found that the color of Euglena rubra was red in the morning and dull green in late afternoon, due to the distribution of haematochrome within the body' , 'color change in eleven minutes when light altered.'.

Healthy summer to all, charlie guevara

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