Polypeptide Composition of Photosynthetic Membranes from Chlamydomonas reinhardi and Anabaena variabilis.

Anabaena variabilis, a blue-green alga lacking chlorophyll b, shows an absence of the major 22 and 24 kilodalton polypeptides which are present in the photosynthetic membranes of Chlamydomonas reinhardi and higher plants. These data are consistent with other investigations which have shown that these polypeptides are associated with chlorophyll b in the chloroplasts of higher plants, and indicate the presence of a light harvesting chlorophyll-protein complex in higher plants which contains the chlorophyll b of the photosynthetic membrane.