Intron-exon structure and gene copy number of a gene encoding for a membrane-intrinsic light-harvesting polypeptide of the red alga Galdieria sulphuraria

Genes for light-harvesting proteins (lhc genes) of higher plants are well examined. However, little is known about the corresponding genes of algae, although this knowledge might give valuable information about the evolution of photosynthetic antennae. In the case of rhodophytes only two cDNA sequences from a single organism, Porphyridium cruentum, have been published. Here we describe an additional sequence from another species, the thermo-acidophilic red alga Galdieria sulphuraria. For the first time also a genomic sequence for a red algal lhc gene is presented. From a cDNA library of G. sulphuraria we isolated a clone containing an open reading frame for a protein of 302 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 33.86kDa. It shares major structural features with eukaryotic light-harvesting polypeptides. A proposed cleavage site between transit peptide and mature protein gives rise to a transit peptide of 119 amino acids and a mature protein of 183 residues. Hydropathy analysis suggests that the mature protein consists of three transmembrane helices. Several amino acid residues supposed to bind chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in higher plants are conserved. The protein shows up to 69% identity and 81% similarity to the Porphyridium polypeptides in the transmembrane helices 1 and 3. Using oligonucleotides annealing in the regions of the start and stop codons of the gene as primers, a DNA sequence was amplified from nuclear G. sulphuraria DNA by PCR. Compared with the cDNA clone, this sequence contains five additional intervening DNA strings of 50-74bp length. Four of them show typical features of spliceosomal introns with GT-AG borders, and the fifth differs by starting with GC. Three of the supposed introns are located in similar positions as introns of higher plant light-harvesting proteins. Southern blotting and hybridization experiments indicate that G. sulphuraria contains at least three copies of this gene.