Expression of a gene for a light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: effect of light and acetate.

In Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, the chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins of photosystem II are encoded in the nucleus by a small family of genes. We have studied the expression of one gene, which we call cabII-1, in a green-in-the-dark strain, which can synthesize chlorophyll in the dark or light, and in a yellow-in-the-dark mutant strain, which is able to make chlorophyll only in the light. In light/dark synchronized cultures of both strains, cabII-1 mRNA abundance increases during the first 6 h of a 12-h light phase, remains high for several hours, then declines. A variety of illumination conditions have been used to analyze the cabII-1 mRNA increase: continuous or intermittent red, blue, or white light, with or without 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), an inhibitor of photosystem II. Our results suggest that light induces increased cabII-1 transcript abundance in two ways: 1) by virtue of its role in the light reactions of photosynthesis and 2) by a blue lightstimulated mechanism which is independent of photosynthesis.We have also examined the role of acetate in regulating cabII-1 mRNA levels in the dark. In both green- and yellow-in-the-dark strains, 15 mM Na-acetate, added to synchronized cells in the dark, induces an increase in cabII-1 mRNA abundance with a temporal accumulation pattern very similar to that induced by continuous white light. We suggest that by providing an energy source, acetate stimulates cellular growth, cell cycle progression, and increased cabII-1 mRNA abundance. Interestingly, in cells exposed to light, acetate inhibits the light-induced increase in cabII-1 mRNA abundance by a mechanism which is not yet understood.