Growth of Chlorella Sorokiniana at Hyperbaric Oxygen Pressures

The growth rate of Chlorella sorokiniana decreased in a linear fashion as the partial pressure of oxygen was increased from 711 to 1,478 mm of Hg. Under two atmospheres of oxygen pressure, growth ceased after 10 to 12 hr. This cessation of growth was not due to any permanent injury, as growth resumed when oxygen partial pressure was reduced to ambient levels. The inhibition occurred under both autotrophic and heterotrophic growth conditions and was not accompanied by an increase in cell size. The results indicated that the tolerance of Chlorella cells to elevated oxygen pressures was not an absolute immunity, and that inhibition of growth at very high oxygen pressures cannot be accounted for by an inhibition of photosynthesis alone.