Nutritional Regulation of Organelle Biogenesis in Euglena

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Abstract
Nitrogen deficiency and the presence of specific organic carbon sources prevent chloroplast development in Euglena. In exponentially growing cultures, chlorophyll levels were low and independent of the nitrogen content of the growth medium. Chlorophyll levels increased in stationary phase and the amount of chlorophyll formed was proportional to the initial nitrogen content of the growth medium; the greater the concentration of nitrogen, the greater the amount of chlorophyll synthesized during stationary phase. Washing experiments demonstrated that the major nutritional factor inhibiting chlorophyll synthesis in stationary phase cultures grown on medium containing a high carbon to nitrogen ratio was the absence of nitrogen rather than the presence of utilizable organic carbon.