Kinetics of Chlorophyll Accumulation and Formation of Chlorophyll-Protein Complexes during Greening of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii y-1 at 38°c

The initial kinetics of accumulation of chlorophylls (Chl) were analyzed during optimal greening of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii y-1 at 38°C. Acetate was required for maximal synthesis of Chl, which occurred at a linear rate when degreened cells were exposed to light. During the first hour Chl a and b accumulated predominantly as geranylgeraniol esters, with lesser amounts of the species with more reduced alcohol side chains. When Chl synthesis was blocked either by treatment with gabaculine or by transfer to the dark, the distribution shifted to the more reduced forms. Similar kinetic patterns indicated that a common pool of chlorophylides a and b provided substrate for the enzymatic system that performs esterification and reduction of the sldechain for each group of Chl. Chl b was essentially quantitatively integrated into light-harvesting complexes as indicated by energy transfer to Chl a. In the presence of cycloheximide, an inhibitor of cytoplasmic protein synthesis, Chl b did not accumulate and Chl a production was reduced about one-half. The results demonstrate that Chl a/b-protein complexes assemble rapidly during greening and that reduction of the alcohol side chain of the Chl is not required for assembly of these complexes.