Control of the synthesis of a major polypeptide of chloroplast membranes in Chlamydomonas reinhardi

The regulation of the synthesis of one of the major polypeptides of chloroplast membranes in Chlamydomonas reinhardi y-1 has been studied in order to determine what factors are involved in the control mechanism. The polypeptide is synthesized in the cytoplasm and previously was designated as c (J. K Hoober. 1972. J. Cell Biol.52:84). Under normal conditions the synthesis of polypeptide c appears to be coupled to the synthesis of chlorophyll. When greening cells are illuminated through a light filter opaque below 675 mmicro, the conversion of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide is blocked. Although this elimination of light below 675 mmicro, does not affect, in the main, protein synthesis in the chloroplast and cytoplasm, synthesis of polypeptide c is inhibited. Also, control cells synthesize neither chlorophyll nor polypeptide c in the dark. However, when cells are treated with chloramphenicol, an inhibitor of chloroplast protein synthesis, the synthesis of polypeptide c occurs in the absence of light required for chlorophyll synthesis. Chlorophyll per se does not appear to be required for synthesis of polypeptide c, since treating cells with hemin, maleate, or malonate causes an inhibition of the synthesis of chlorophyll but not of polypeptide c. The results of these experiments are discussed in terms of a proposed mechanism by which synthesis of polypeptide c is regulated at the transcriptional level by a precursor of chlorophyll, and this regulation is mediated by a protein or proteins synthesized within the chloroplast.

The activity of deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase in some species of algae

1. The activities of DNA polymerase preparations from the algae Euglena gracilis, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Anabaena variabilis and Anacystis nidulans were measured. The blue-green algae Anabaena and Anacystis contain a 5-20-fold higher activity of the enzyme than do the green algae. DNA polymerases from the blue-green algae show a pH optimum of 9 and prefer a relatively low Mg(2+) concentration (1-3mm). DNA polymerases from the green algae, however, display a pH optimum between 7.5 and 8.5 and an optimum Mg(2+) concentration of 8mm. With all algae, a higher polymerase activity was obtained with denatured salmon sperm DNA as template than with native DNA. All four deoxyribonucleoside 5'-triphosphates must be present for full activity of the polymerases. 2. With one exception, the deoxyribonuclease activities in the preparations, measured under conditions of the DNA polymerase assay, are low compared with corresponding preparations from Escherichia coli. Chlamydomonas extracts contain a high deoxyribonuclease activity. 3. After purification on columns of DEAE-cellulose, the polymerase activity was linear over a wide range of protein concentrations, except for Chlamydomonas preparations, where the observed deviation from linearity was probably attributable to the high nuclease activity. 4. DNA polymerases from all these algae bind strongly to DNA-cellulose; 6-40-fold purifications of the enzyme were obtained by chromatography on columns of DNA-cellulose. 5. The partially purified polymerases of Euglena and Anacystis are heat-labile but become much more heat-stable when tested in the presence of DNA.

Chloroplast Ribosome Deficient Mutants in the Green Alga Chlamydomonas Reinhardi and the Question of Chloroplast Ribosome Function

The 2 chloroplast ribosome deficient mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardi, ac-20 and cr-I form low levels of 66-s and 70-s chloroplast ribosome monomers compared to wild type, but differ in that cr-I also accumulates substantial amounts of the large (54-S) chloroplast subunit. Unlike wild type, ac-20, cr-I and the double mutant ac-20 cr-I make little or none of the CO2- fixing enzyme ribulose diphosphate carboxylase (RuDPCase) when grown in the light with acetate and CO2 as carbon sources (mixotrophic growth) whereas all 3 mutant genotypes form at least some enzyme when grown photosynthetically with CO2 as the sole carbon source (phototrophic growth). All 3 mutant genotypes also show a characteristic defect in the organization of their chloroplast lamellar system when grown mixotrophically, but their chloroplast membrane organization approaches that of wild type when grown phototrophically. No change in the level of chloroplast ribosomes accompanies these changes in chloroplast organization and RuDPCase formation. We propose that the pleiotropic effects on chloroplast structure and function in mixotrophically grown cells of the mutants result because their chloroplast ribosomes synthesize certain specific chloroplast components with low efficiency, whereas they perform this function with greater efficiency when the cells are grown phototrophically.