An immunological and electrophoretic study of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophore fragments

Bacteriochlorophyll and Photosynthetic Reaction Centers in Rhizobium Strain BTAi 1

Rhizobium strain BTAi 1, which nodulates both stems and roots of Aeschynomene indica L., formed bacteriochlorophyll and photosynthetic reaction centers resembling those of purple photosynthetic bacteria when grown aerobically ex planta under a light-dark cycle. Bacteriochlorophyll formation was not observed under continuous dark or light growth conditions. The amount of pigment formed was similar to that previously found in aerobic photosynthetic bacteria. Stem nodules appear to fix nitrogen photosynthetically, as illumination of A. indica stem nodules with near-infrared light resulted in an enhanced rate of acetylene reduction. Near-infrared light did not enhance acetylene reduction when either A. indica or soybean root nodules were illuminated. The BTAi 1 isolate can be differentiated from members of the family Rhodospirillaceae by several criteria.

The photoreaction center of Rhodospirillum rubrum mutant strain F24.1

Rhodospirillum rubrum strain F24.1 is a spontaneous revertant of nonphototrophic mutant F24 derived from wild-type strain S1. Strain F24 shows no detectable photochemical activity and contains, at most, traces of the photoreaction center polypeptides. Strain F24.1 has a phototrophic growth rate close to that of the wild-type strain (Picorel, R., del Valle-Tascón, S. and Ramírez, J.M. (1977) Arch. Biophys. Biochem. 181, 665-670) but shows little photochemical activity. Light-induced absorbance changes in the near-infrared, photoinduced EPR signals and ferricyanide-elicited absorbance changes indicate that strain F24.1 has a photoreaction center content of 7-8% as compared to strain S1. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of isolated F24.1 chromatophores shows the photoreaction center polypeptides to be present in amounts compatible with this value. Photoreaction center was prepared from strain F24.1 and showed no detectable difference with that of strain S1. It is concluded that strain F24.1 photosynthesis is due entirely to its residual 7-8% of typical photoreaction center.