163 



R. P. Levine 



Table 11 summarizes data regarding cytochrome bg, cytochrome f, and 

 plastocyanin^^^\ It can be seen that there is approximately three to four times 

 as much cytochrome £in ac- 115 and ac- 141 as compared to wild type and ac-21. 

 The cytochrome bg as" well as the plastocyanin content of the strains is about 

 equal. 



Table II 



Cytochrome b , cytochrome f, and plastocyanin content of 

 wild type and mutant strains of C. reinhardi 



Cytochrome content Plastocyanin content 



Strain Cytochrome bg Cytochrome f_ 



moles chlorophyll /mole cytochrome moles chlorophyll/g atom Cu 



wild type 90 363 500 



ac-2j. 113 489 530 



"^-TTS 154 174 429 



■^-141 100 167 560 



An analysis of the carotenoid pigments in wild type, ac-2j_, ac- 115 . and 

 ac-141 has revealed similarities among the mutant strains which distinguish 

 Them from the wild type strain when they are cultured in the light^l'"^'. Each 

 mutant strain has both a lower carotenoid content and a lower beta -carotene/ 

 alpha-carotene ratio than light-grown wild type. Interestingly, both the lower 

 total carotenoid content and the lower beta - carotene / alpha - carotene ratio are 

 characteristic of wild type when it is cultured in the dark. However, in spite 

 of this similarity between the mutant strains and dark-grown wild type, each 

 mutant strain has a pattern of types and amounts of carotenoids that distin- 

 guishes it from the other mutant strains and from both light- and dark-grown 

 wild type. 



The initial investigation of plastoquinone in wild type, ac-2 1, ac- 1 15 , 

 and ac-141 revealed that both ac- 1 15 and ac-_14J_ have five-fold less plastoquinone 

 than"wild type and ac-2J_^^' ^^K This investigation preceded the important dis- 

 covery of Crane and~his~ coworkers in which it was demonstrated that several 

 different plasto- and tocopherylquinones could be extracted from spinach 

 chloroplasts^27, 29)_ Accordingly, our original data for wild type and the 

 mutant strains (Table III) were representative of a combination of quinones, 

 and most likely some of the quinones were missing because of the extraction 

 procedure used. We have recently undertaken a more extensive analysis of 

 the quinones of C. reinhardi, and it has revealed a variety of both plasto- and 

 tocopherylquinones similar to those found in spinach. 



