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. 1985 Oct;82(19):6485–6489. doi: 10.1073/pnas.82.19.6485

Gene expression of pigment-binding proteins of the bacterial photosynthetic apparatus: Transcription and assembly in the membrane of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Gabriele Klug 1, Norbert Kaufmann 1, Gerhart Drews 1,*
PMCID: PMC390741  PMID: 16593609

Abstract

Lowering of oxygen partial pressure in chemotrophic cultures or reduction of light intensity in phototrophic cultures of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata induced formation of the photosynthetic apparatus. A maximum of mRNA coding for the reaction center (RC) and the light-harvesting 1 B870 antenna complex polypeptides occurred 30 min after induction. Maximal expression of mRNA for B800-B850 antenna proteins appeared with a lag time of about 25 min after RC/B870 mRNA. Pigment-binding polypeptides were inserted into the membrane immediately after mRNA synthesis. It is concluded that the delayed formation of the B800-B850 complex compared to the RC and the B870 complex is caused by sequential expression of the corresponding genes. Biological activity of pigment-protein complexes increased after the incorporation of their polypeptides parallel to the maximum of bacteriochlorophyll synthesis. Studies on mutant strains defective in the formation of pigment-protein complexes suggested that pigment synthesis is of importance for assembly of stable complexes.

Keywords: antenna pigment complexes, reaction center, bacterial photosynthesis, membrane assembly, transcriptional control

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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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