Novel chlorophyll-related compounds in marine phytoplankton: distributions and geochemical implications

Survey of the distributions of chlorophyll-related pigments in marine phytoplankton to document their occurrence, reevaluate their use as biological markers, and suggest precursor-geoporphyrin relationships. Newly identified chlorophyll c related pigments were widely distributed among the marine phytoplankton clones examined. Two of the recently described chlorophyll c like pigments (chlorophyll c 3 and a phytylchlorophyll c derivative) were found to be associated with common bloom-producing chromophytes, thus having potential for preservation in the sedimentary record. The taxonomic specificity and apparent geological stability of chlorophyll pigments suggest that geoporphyrins are excellent candidates as indicators of paleooceanographic/depositional environments.