Regulation of the Synthesis of Ribulose-l,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase and Its Subunits in the Flagellate Chlorogonium elongatum. II. Coordinated Synthesis of the Large and Small Subunits

Transfer of heterotrophically grown cells of the unicellular green alga Chlorogonium elongatum to autotrophic growth conditions causes a 10-15 fold increase in the amount of the chloroplastic enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase. This increase was found to be due to de novo synthesis. The relative proportions of large and small subunits of the enzyme do not change. Their ratio is close to 3.4, the proportions in weight of the two subunits in the holoenzyme. Continous labelling with [35S]sulfate reveals that the ratios of incorporation into large and small subunits are essentially the same in autotrophic and heterotrophic cells. Pulse-chase experiments show that the subunits are degraded synchronously. The coordinated subunit synthesis cannot be uncoupled using inhibitors of protein and RNA synthesis or high temperature of cultivation of the alga. The results suggests a very tightly coordinated synthesis of the large and small subunits of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase.