Fluorescence studies on photosynthetic pigment development in Rhodopseudomonas spheroides.

When bleached, aerobically grown cells of Rhodopseudornonas spheroides are transferred to semi-aerobic conditions to induce bacteriochlorophyll synthesis, a new fluorescence band, with a maximum at 790 nm, is observed in addition to the 885 nm emission maximum normally seen in pigmented cells. The 790 nm fluorescence may be due to bacteriochlorophyll which has not been bound into the chromatophore membrane. The quantum yield of the 885 nrn fluorescence is at first relatively high and then, about 1 hour after transfer, drops to the level found in pigmented photosynthetic cells. The coupling to the rest of the photosynthetic apparatus, as indicated by the effect of dithionite on the fluorescence, also seems to occur during the first hour of pigment development, which suggests that the onset of fluorescence quenching is due at least in part to the synthesis of photochemical reaction centers. Continuation of these studies should provide new information on the formation, structure and molecular interactions of the pigments and the photosynthetic membranes.