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. 1974 Dec 1;63(3):806–823. doi: 10.1083/jcb.63.3.806

GENETIC CONTROL OF CHLOROPHYLL BIOSYNTHESIS IN CHLAMYDOMONAS

Analysis of Mutants at Two Loci Mediating the Conversion of Protoporphyrin-IX to Magnesium Protoporphyrin

Wei-Yeh Wang 1, Wenan Lee Wang 1, John E Boynton 1, Nicholas W Gillham 1
PMCID: PMC2109367  PMID: 4436384

Abstract

In this report we describe two nonallelic Mendelian protoporphyrin accumulating mutants br s-1 and br c-1. Results of experiments with these mutants lead us to postulate that porphyrin biosynthesis branches into light and dark steps between protoporphyrin-IX and magnesium protoporphyrin. We hypothesize that the br c locus controls a dark step while the br s locus either controls a step in the main pathway before the branch or mediates the preparation of the magnesium ion for its insertion into protoporphyrin-IX. The br s-1 mutant is thought to be light sensitive because a block prior to the branch point in the porphyrin pathway prevents chlorophyll formation in either the light or the dark. The br c-1 mutant, which also accumulates protoporphyrin in the dark, forms chlorophyll and chloroplast lamellae when transferred to the light, showing that function of the porphyrin pathway is normal in the light.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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