Figure 2

Lipid bodies accumulation during the time course experiment. Nitrogen starvation causes a quick accumulation of lipid bodies (yellow dots) with a maximum density obtained after 72 h of culture. Notice that the autofluorescence of the cells is dramatically reduced at 72 to 77 h, indicating a sharp decrease in the pigment content. Lipid bodies disappear completely 24 h after the addition of ammonia (96 h). Cells were fixed in 1% formaldehyde and stored at 4°C until analysis. Cells were stained with Nile red to identify the lipid bodies.