Identification of a non-magnetic iron centre and an iron-storage or -transport material in blue--green algal membranes by Mössbauer spectroscopy.

At least two species of iron were identified in crude membrane preparations of the blue-green algae Chlorogloea fritschii and Anacystis nidulans by Mössbauer spectroscopy. One species was non-magnetic with chemical shift more characteristic of a ferredoxin-like centre than of any known low-spin Fe(II) biological compounds. Studies on cells grown under depleted-iron conditions show the other iron species to be part of the system for iron metabolic transport and/or storage.