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The induction of the CO2-concentrating mechanism is correlated with the formation of the starch sheath around the pyrenoid of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

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Abstract

The pyrenoid is a prominent proteinaceous structure found in the stroma of the chloroplast in unicellular eukaryotic algae, most multicellular algae, and some hornworts. The pyrenoid contains the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and is sometimes surrounded by a carbohydrate sheath. We have observed in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dangeard that the pyrenoid starch sheath is formed rapidly in response to a decrease in the CO2 concentration in the environment. This formation of the starch sheath occurs coincidentally with the induction of the CO2-concentrating mechanism. Pyrenoid starch-sheath formation is partly inhibited by the presence of acetate in the growth medium under light and low-CO2 conditions. These growth conditions also partly inhibit the induction of the CO2-concentrating mechanism. When cells are grown with acetate in the dark, the CO2-concentrating mechanism is not induced and the pyrenoid starch sheath is not formed even though there is a large accumulation of starch in the chloroplast stroma. These observations indicate that pyrenoid starch-sheath formation correlates with induction of the CO2-concentrating mechanism under low-CO2 conditions. We suggest that this ultrastructural reorganization under lowCO2 conditions plays a role in the CO2-concentrating mechanism C. reinhardtii as well as in other eukaryotic algae.

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Abbreviations

Low CO2 :

air containing ambient 0.03% CO2 (v/v)

high CO2 :

air supplemented with CO2 so that the final CO2 concentration is 5% (v/v)

Rubisco:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Louisiana State University, 70803, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Ziyadin Ramazanov, Mamta Rawat, Catherine B. Mason, Sharon W. Matthews & James V. Moroney

  2. Department of Microbiology, Louisiana State University, 70803, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Margaret C. Henk

Authors
  1. Ziyadin Ramazanov
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  2. Mamta Rawat
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  3. Margaret C. Henk
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  4. Catherine B. Mason
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  5. Sharon W. Matthews
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  6. James V. Moroney
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James V. Moroney.

Additional information

The authors thank Dr. David J. Longstreth and Dr. Patricia M. Moroney for critically reading the manuscript. This work was supported by National Science Foundation grants IBN-8957037 and IBN-9304662.

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Ramazanov, Z., Rawat, M., Henk, M.C. et al. The induction of the CO2-concentrating mechanism is correlated with the formation of the starch sheath around the pyrenoid of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . Planta 195, 210–216 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00199681

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00199681

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