Chloroplast membrane biogenesis in Chlamydomonas: correlation between the formation of membrane components and membrane structure.

The y-1 mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardi, when allowed to green in the presence of chloramphenicol (CAP), an inhibitor of protein synthesis on 70s ribosomes, form photosynthetic membranes which contain somewhat less chlorophyll than those of cells greened in the absence of the drug. Photosystem I and II activities are drastically reduced in the CAP-greened cells, and specific alterations in the polypeptide composition of the thylakoid membranes are also observed. We have examined the internal structure of the thylakoid membranes from cells greened in the presence and absence of CAP, and have found that the large particles observed on the exoplasmic fracture face (EF) are substantially reduced in size and number in the CAP-greened cells. This structural defect seems related to the absence of significant photo-system activities in the CAP-greened cells, despite the presence of most major membrane polypeptides. We suggest that CAP treatment results in a failure of the cell to organize functional reaction complexes, and is structurally reflected in the absence of large (EF) particles in such membranes. This defect can be repaired by allowing the affected cells to re-green in the absence of the drug, and the large particles reappear, paralleling an increase in photosynthetic activity.