Mutants of Sweetclover (Melilotus alba) Lacking Chlorophyll b

Mutants of sweetclover (Melilotus alba) with defects in the nuclear ch5 locus were examined. Using thin-layer chromatography and absorption spectroscopy, three of these mutants were found to lack chlorophyll (Chl) b. One of these three mutants, U374, possessed thylakoid membranes lacking the three Chl b-containing pigment-protein complexes (AB-1, AB-2, and AB-3) while still containing A-1 and A-2, Chl a complexes derived from photosystems I and II, respectively. Complete solubilization and denaturation of the thylakoid proteins from this mutant revealed very little apoprotein from the Chl b-containing light-harvesting complexes, the major thylakoid proteins in normal plants. The normal and mutant sweetclover plants had active thylakoid protein kinase activities and numerous polypeptides were labeled following incubation with [gamma-(32)P]ATP. With the U374 mutant, however, there was very little detectable label co-migrating with the light-harvesting complex apoproteins on polyacrylamide gels. The Chl b-deficient chlorina-f2 mutant of barley (Hordeum vulgare) also had an active protein kinase activity capable of phosphorylating numerous polypeptides, including ones migrating with the same mobility as the light-harvesting complex apoproteins. These results indicate that the sweetclover mutants may be useful systems for studies on the function and organization of Chl b in thylakoid membranes of higher plants.