title: Control of the formation of bacteriochlorophyll, and B875- and B850-bacteriochlorophyll complexes in Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides mutant strain H5.
abstract: Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides mutant H5 lacking 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase was employed to study the control of the formation of total bacteriochlorophyll as well as of the B875- and B850-bacteriochlorophyll protein complexes. The organisms were grown phototrophically in a chemostat where cell protein formation was limited by iron ions and bacteriochlorophyll by 5-aminolevulinic acid. 0.07 mol of bacteriochlorophyll was formed per mol of 5-amino-levulinic acid consumed. This stoichiometric relationship was not influenced by a twelve-fold variation in light energy flux. However, cell protein levels increased and, consequently, cellular specific bacteriochlorophyll contents decreased with increases in light energy flux. The ratio of B875- to B850-pigment protein complexes was inversely proportional to the velocity of 5-aminolevulinic acid supply (mol per cell protein and time) which in this system equals the velocity of 5-aminolevulinic acid consumption and the velocity of bacteriochlorophyll formation. Light had no direct effect on the ratio of B875- per B850-pigment complexes but an indirect effect via its control of protein formation. Changes in the ratio of the two pigment complexes resulted from the fact that significantly lower amounts of 5-aminolevulinic acid supplied per protein and time were required to saturate the system assembling the B875-complexes than that assembling the B850-complexes. The data suggest lack of light-dependent control in the formation of bacteriochlorophyll and its complexes subsequent to the 5-aminolevulinic acid pool.
mesh_terms: D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001429:Bacteriochlorophylls / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D008027:Light; D009154:Mutation; D012242:Rhodobacter sphaeroides / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001429:Bacteriochlorophylls; D002734:Chlorophyll; D000622:Aminolevulinic Acid