Partial Reactions of Photosynthesis in Briefly Sonicated Chlamydomonas: II. Photophosphorylation Activities.

Briefly sonicated Chlamydomonas reinhardi cells are capable of both cyclic and noncyclic photophosphorylation and, in each case, the maximum rates approach those reported for higher plant chloroplasts. Photophosphorylation coupled to ferricyanide reduction occurs with a P/2e ratio approaching unity.The conditions for optimum activity are similar to those reported for spinach or swiss chard chloroplasts; the major difference is the extreme sensitivity to salt and relative insensitivity to methylamine. Cell preparation, sonication, and assays were all performed at room temperature under conditions suitable for screening a large number of potential mutants deficient in photophosphorylation activity. This method was easily adapted to Euglena gracilis strain Z but not adaptable for Chlorella vulgaris or Scenedesmus obliquus strain D(3).