Regulation of Photosynthetic Capacity in Chlamydomonas mundana.

A regulatory system has been described in the obligately phototrophic green alga Chlamydomonas mundana. Cells grown in acetate media are unable to fix carbon dioxide in the light but carry out a photoassimilation of acetate to carbohydrate: cells cultured with carbon dioxide as the sole source of cellular carbon carry out typical green plant photosynthesis. The control appears to take place at the level of the reductive pentose phosphate cycle. The presence of sodium acetate in the medium strongly inhibits formation of ribulose-1.5-diphosphate carboxylase, ribulose-5-phosphate kinase, and one of the 2 fructose-1,6-diphosphate aldolase activities of the cell. Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase is present in higher activity in autotrophic cells. Changes in the levels of triose phosphate dehydrogenase were also noted. The total pigment content of the cell and the photosynthetic electron transport reactions are not altered under different conditions of growth.