Ultrastructural Organization and Composition of Carotenoids of the Eyespot in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Mutants

摘要

Biogenesis of the ultrastructure of the eyespot in chloroplasts of unicellular green alga Chlamy-domonas reinhardtii has been studied. It was established that development of the eyespot structure correlates with the accumulation of carotenoids. Due totheir accumulation, the eyespot forms from one to four layers of lipid-carotenoid globules. It has been shown that, in eyespot globules, only carotenes are accumulated. It was found for the first time that, in mutants, the carotene composition in the eyespot may be changed due to changes of their composition in chloroplast membranes.