DETERMINATION OF THE IN VIVO ABSORPTION AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROPERTIES OF THE LICHEN Acarospora schleicheri USING PHOTO ACOUSTIC SPECTROSCOPY

Photoacoustic spectroscopy was used to determine the in vivo spectra of the stratified components of the lichen Acarospora schleicheri. There were three pigmented layers observed by the photoacoustic method: an absorption band associated with the pigment rhizocarpic acid, a bulk cytochrome absorption, and the absorption of the algal chloroplast. Due to the different absorption properties of these distinct layers, the photoacoustic technique was able to monitor the physical effect of hydration on the lichen. Hydration of the lichen reduced the scatter of the sample, increasing the effective incident light intensity within the sample. Hydration also resulted in an increase in the optical absorption coefficient of the algal layer, which was interpreted as a movement of the algal chloroplast in response to low light fluence and hydrated conditions. The photoacoustic technique was also used to monitor the relative photosynthetic activity of the algae within the lichen in a hydrated and dehydrated state. The photosynthetic assay could detect photosynthetic activity in the hydrated state but not in the dehydrated state. In addition, the photosynthetic response was found to be induced and repressed with light and dark periods respectively and its detection was limited at high frequencies by the damping of the thermal wave from the algal layer.