RNA metabolism during light-induced chloroplast development in euglena.

Methods are described which provide good recoveries of non-degraded chloroplast and non-chloroplast RNAs from Euglena gracilis var. bacillaris. These have been characterized by comparing the RNA from W(3)BUL (an aplastidic mutant of Euglena), with that of wild-type cells which have been resolved into chloroplast and non-chloroplast fractions. Using E. coli RNA as a standard, the RNAs from W(3)BUL and from the non-chloroplast fraction of green cells exhibit optical density peaks, upon sucrose gradient centrifugation, at 4S, 10S, and 19S. The chloroplast fraction exhibits optical density peaks at 19S and 14S with the 19S component predominating. Application of various techniques for the separation of RNAs to the problem of separating the chloroplast and non-chloroplast RNAs, without prior separation of the organelle, have not proven successful.(32)P(i) is readily incorporated into RNA by cells undergoing light-induced chloroplast development, and fractionation at the end of development reveals that although chloroplast RNAs have a higher specific activity, the other RNAs of the cells are significantly labeled as well. The succession of labeling patterns of total cellular RNA as light-induced chloroplast development proceeds are displayed and reveal that all RNA species mentioned above eventually become labeled. In contrast, cells kept in darkness during this period incorporate little (32)P(i) into any RNA fraction. In addition, a heavy RNA component, designated as 28S, while representing a negligible fraction of the total RNA, becomes significantly labeled during the first 24 hours of illumination. While there is light stimulated uptake of (32)P(i) into the cells, this uptake is never limiting in the light or dark, for RNA labeling.On the basis of these findings, we suggest that extensive activation of non-chloroplast RNA labeling during chloroplast development is the result of the activation of the cellular synthetic machinery external to the chloroplast necessary to provide metabolic precursors for plastid development. Thus the plastid is viewed as an auxotrophic resident within the cell during development. Other possibilities for interaction at this and other levels are also discussed.