Genetic studies have shown that the expression of the pufQ gene is required for normal levels of bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis in Rhodobacter capsulatus. Yet, the exact function of the puJQ gene is unknown, and a puJQ gene product has never been isolated. We describe the recombinant overexpression of pufQ in Escherichia coli, as well as the purification and characterization of its gene product, the 74-amino-acid PufQ protein. Site-directed of R. capsulatus into operons and superoperons has recently been reviewed (37). The relative positions of the puf and puh operons and many of the bch and crt genes in the closely related bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides are similar to those found for the equivalent genes of R capsulatus (14). However, the distance between the puf and puh operons is some 10 kb shorter (40), and the photosynthetic gene cluster extends to include genes encoding other photosynthetic components, including cytochrome c2 (cycA) and the a-and 1-subunits of the B800-850 light-harvesting complex II (pucB and pucA, respectively, in the puc operon) (40).The biosynthesis of Bchl in both R. capsulatus and R.