Abstract
Cyanidioschyzon merolae is a unicellular rhodophyte having a plastid and a mitochondrion. Division of these organelles precedes cell division. The organellar cycle as well as the cell cycle was analyzed in a synchronous culture triggered by a light/dark cycle (6h-light/18h-dark) combined with regulation of CO2-supply. We examined changes in expression of various genes throughout the cell cycle by real-time RT-PCR. So far, the genes involved in the replication of the nuclear and organellar genomes, the DNA repair, the cell cycle progression (four cyclins and four cyclin-dependent kinases), the metabolism, the photosynthesis, and the division of organelles have been analyzed. Many genes including cyclins and CDKs showed a specific expression pattern during the cell cycle.
