Summary
The cyanophycin or structured granule of the blue-green algae is composed of polypeptides which are copolymers of aspartic acid and arginine. The addition of chloramphenicol to an exponentially growing culture of the blue-green alga Anabaena cylindrica at concentrations which completely inhibit protein synthesis results both in the inhibition of growth and in the accumulation of the cyanophycin granule polypeptide (CGP). The chloramphenicol induced increase in CGP content is energy dependent. Removal of the chloramphenicol results in resumption of growth and the hydrolysis of the stored CGP. The data presented indicate that CGP is synthesized via a non-ribosomal system and are consistent with the idea that CGP serves as a cellular nitrogen reserve.
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Simon, R.D. The effect of chloramphenicol on the production of cyanophycin granule polypeptide in the blue-green alga Anabaena cylindrica . Archiv. Mikrobiol. 92, 115–122 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425009
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425009