Increasing the Copy Number of rbcL Genes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Chloroplast Genome Affects neither Cell Proliferation nor Distribution of Pyrenoid Antigens to Rubisco Holoenzyme Antibody

A higher copy number of the rbcL gene in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome upregulates synthesis of Rubisco gene products (Uchida et al. 2005). To determine the influence of rbcL gene number increase on the viability and morphology of the cell, we examined the growth speed, size of pyrenoid and density of antigen to Rubisco holoenzyme antibody in the three-rbcL (3L) transformant. There were no differences detected in these phenotypes between the 3L transformant and the control transformant.