Effects of external saccharides on cell wall properties and ion transport inHydrodictyon reticulatum.

Various saccharides, when present at osmotically insignificant concentrations in growth media, were tested as to their effects on the cell walls of the green algaHydrodictyon reticulatum, manifesting themselves in differences in cell water and ion contents. BothD: -xylose andD: -mannose reduce the cell water content andD: -galactose does occasionally the same but onlyD: -xylose reduces significantly the intracellular sodium concentration, presumably by forming steric hindrances at the outlets of the sodium pumps at the outer surface of the cell membrane. No significant effects of eitherL: -arabinose orD: -arabinose on the cell water and ion contents were found.