Multiple Allelic Control of Chlorophyll b Level in Arabidopsis thaliana

IN maize, the plant best known genetically, there are no viable chlorophyll b deficient mutants 1,2 . Röbbelen 3 described an Arabidopsis mutant devoid of this pigment which was, however, a lethal one. It has been reported that in barley only chlorophyll a is necessary for viability 4 . Among algae viable chlorophyll b -less mutants are not infrequent 5 . Since chlorophyll b is a normal constituent of the photosynthetic apparatus of all angiosperms and its precise role is little understood, viable mutants involved in the development of this pigment are of interest.