Association of Formation and Release of Cyclic AMP with Glucose Depletion and Onset of Chlorophyll Synthesis in Poterioochromonas malhamensis.

Depletion of glucose from the culture medium by Poterioochromonas malhamensis results in cessation of growth and accumulation of cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate (cAMP), followed by formation of chlorophyll and an increase in extracellular cAMP. Readdition of glucose to the culture medium causes P. malhamensis to release its intracellular cAMP into the medium. These results suggest that formation of the photosynthetic apparatus in P. malhamensis may be repressed by glucose, and that high cAMP conveys the regulatory information that the glucose supply is inadequate. This pattern is reminiscent of cAMP-mediated escape from catabolite repression in bacteria.