Nitzschia palea

Freshwater diatom, Nitzschia palea-, 5 pg/L Alga, Ochromonas danica... 

From the difference in response between different algal species it appears that copper may be acting at a variety of loci. Chlorella does not show inhibition for a few hours except at saturating light intensity. The action of copper in that organism may be one that requires a time dependent penetration inside the cell to reach specific sites such as the chloroplast. Conditions which may favor the penetration of copper, such as those found in anaerobic cultures, are followed by a rapid decoloration in pigment material and a rapid inhibition, even with Chhrella91 On the contrary, Nitzschia palea and possibly other diatoms may be affected as soon as copper is present at the level of the cellular membrane. The rapid response of diatoms may occur because silicon metabolism is directly connected to membrane function and membrane function is rapidly affected by materials in the aqueous phase. Indeed, we have visual evidence from our experiments that the silica shells are altered in the presence of copper and that cell division, which also depends on silicon uptake, is also affected. 

Nitzschia palea Fontinalis antipyretica with Stentor roeseli and Campa-nella umbellaria with Vorticella campanula and also the triplet Gamma-... 

The only significant doublets are those of microorganisms, for example Colpidium colpoda with Beggiatoa Nitzschia palea with Stigeoclonium Paramecium trichium with Navicula accommoda. 

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