[LIGHT-DEPENDENT SYNTHESIS OF CELL MEMBRANES IN THE Brc-1 MUTANT OF CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII]

The structural organization of cells of the Brc-1 mutant of the unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii grown in the light and in the dark has been studied. The Brc-1 mutant contains the brc-1 mutation in the nucleus gene LTS3. In the light, all membrane structures in mutant cells form normally and are well developed. In the dark under heterotrophic conditions, the mutant cells grew and divided well, however, all its cell membranes: plasmalemma, tonoplast, mitochondrial membranes, membranes of the nucleus shell and chloroplast, thylakoids, and the membranes of dictiosomes of the Golgi apparatus were not detected. In the dark under heterotrophic conditions, mutant cells well grow and divide. It were shown that a short-term (1-10 min) exposure of Brc-1 mutant cells to light leads to the restoration of all above-mentioned membrane structures. Possible reasons for the alterations of membrane structures are discussed.