Chlorella ellipsoidea cells were cultured in an iron, copper, zinc, manganese, molybdenum or boron-free medium. Biosynthetic activities of nucleic acids, protein and phospholipid in chlorella cells, which were growing in a microelement deficient medium were compared with those of the normal cells by measuring the contents of phosphate, amino acids or UV-absorbing substances in the various cell fractions. When the algae were grown in a molybdenum-free medium, the amounts of phosphate in the acid-soluble fraction of the cells increased, whereas the amounts of alkali-stable protein and RNA decreased compared with the normal cells showing that the synthesis of protein and RNA from the early products of photosynthesis was inhibited. When the algae were grown in a boron-free medium, amounts of alkali-labile protein and phospholipid of the cells decreased, while the amount of phosphate in acid-soluble fraction increased compared with the normal cells showing that the biosynthesis of protein and phospholipid from the early products of photosynthesis was retarded. In general, amounts of protein and RNA in the microelement deficient cells significantly decreased compared with those of the normal cells. Phosphate content in the acid-soluble fraction of the algal cell grown in an zinc, copper, molybdenum, or boron-free medium increased considerably, whereas that of the algal cell grown in an iron or manganese-free medium decreased remarkably compared with that of the control. It is considered, therefore, that molybdenum, zinc, copper and boron etc. play an important role in the biosyntbesis of macromolecule from acid-soluble phosphate compounds, in contrast to the principal action of iron and manganese on the photosynthetic process itself.