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Regulation of the Late Steps of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis

  • Chapter
Tetrapyrroles

Part of the book series: Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit ((MBIU))

Abstract

The regulatory network that controls formation of the various components of the photosynthetic machinery becomes evident when late steps of chlorophyll biosynthesis are investigated by deregulation. A major regulatory point is revealed by a dark-to-light shift revealing the interplay between the light dependent reduction of protochlorophyllide a to chlorophyllide a with phase transitions of plastid membranes and stable accumulation of chlorophyll a-binding proteins. The second part deals with chlorophyll b formation, details of which are controversially disputed in the literature. This is connected with the formation of nuclear-encoded proteins of light-harvesting complexes; expression of their genes, in turn, responds to plastid signals one of which is a chlorophyll precursor. Finally, a hypothetical role for carotenoids to maintain a well-regulated tetrapyrrole pathway will be discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Biologie I, Botanik, Universität München, Menzinger Str. 67, D-80638, München, Germany

    Wolfhart Rüdiger

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  1. Wolfhart Rüdiger
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Correspondence to Wolfhart Rüdiger .

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Rüdiger, W. (2009). Regulation of the Late Steps of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis. In: Tetrapyrroles. Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-78518-9_16

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