Results

We compared the growth rate and the pigment production as indicators of how much pigment was produced in each cell.  There were three atmospheric conditions present: 100 ppm, 350 ppm ( normal atmosphere ), and 750 ppm carbon dioxide concentration.  The 350 ppm was used as the control and, generally, as the growth rate of the bacteria increased so did the production of pigments at 350ppm.

Synechocystis PCC6803 - For this strain when grown at 100 ppm, as the growth rate decreased there was an increase in pigment production.  When grown at 750 ppm as the growth rate increased, pigment production rate began to level off.
 

Synechococcus PCC7002- When grown at either 100 ppm or 750 ppm, the same trend appeared.  As the growth rate increased, the pigment production rate decreased.
 

Synechococcus WH7803 - From the data collected, it appears that in comparison of cell growth and pigment production, there is a correlation.  As the cell count increased, the fluorescence also increased.  With this data, it may be concluded that in the WH7803 strain of cyanobacteria carbon dioxide concentration does not affect the production of pigments.

The amounts of chlorophyll a and accessory pigments that fluoresce at the same wavelength were measured using a fluorometer.  The accessory pigments were further identified and measured using the spectrophotometer.  The spectra were analyzed for quantitative data.  The varying concentrations of carbon dioxide were compared to the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide concentration.

Synechocystis PCC6803 - There appeared to be an increase of 4.13 micrograms/ ml of allophycocyanin at the 750 ppm concentration and a 6.1 micrograms/ ml increase at the 100 ppm concentration.

Synechococcus PCC7002 - For the amount of phycocyanin, there was a 6.8 micrograms/ ml difference at the 100 ppm compared to the 350 ppm concentration.

Synechococcus WH7803 - The concentration of carbon dioxide did not appear to affect the production of pigments in this strain of cyanobacteria.

Using the fluorometer readings, the amount of chlorophyll a appeared to decrease at both the 100 ppm and 750 ppm carbon dioxide concentrations for all three strains of cyanobacteria.

The validity of the collected data was affected by significant errors.  These errors included: the 750 ppm carbon dioxide tank was turned off from day 3 to day 5, inexperience with lab protocol and problematic equipment, and the cells clumped together and faded with exposure to the mercury lamp on the microscope which prevented an accurate count.  Despite these errors, there were generalizations that could be drawn.  It appears that our first hypothesis was supported.  The higher the concentration of carbon dioxide in the environment, the higher the pigment production.  Because this research is cutting edge, more experiments need to be performed to attain conclusive evidence.  If this experiment was to be repeated and improved, the following are recommended suggestions: lab protocol should be practiced, the experiment should be run for more than 5 days with multiple samples of each strain of cyanobacteria, and the optimal conditions for each strain should be determined and utilized.
 
Q: Which are the leading countries of human generated CO2  emissions?

A:  United States, Former Soviet Union, Peoples Republic of China, Germany, Japan, India, United Kingdom

Data is for 1988 and was drawn from "Trends ’90:  a compendium of data on global change.  "Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1990.