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1. The ;initial' 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase activity, that is the activity observed immediately after cell disruption, in extracts prepared from unharvested semianaerobically grown Rhodopseudomonas spheroides, was twice that observed under the same assay conditions in extracts prepared from harvested cells. 2. The effect of oxygenation of a culture on the ;maximum' aminolaevulinate synthetase activity, that is the activity observed 1h after disruption of harvested cells, is markedly influenced by the contents of the growth medium. Oxygenation of organisms for 1h in the medium in which they have grown produces an 80-90% decrease in maximum activity, whereas similar treatment of organisms resuspended in fresh medium produces less than a 40% decrease. 3. This protective effect of fresh medium is absolutely dependent on the presence of sulphate. When cells are suspended in sulphate-deficient fresh medium, the maximum activity falls by 65-75% even without oxygenation. A high maximum activity is regenerated when sulphate is resupplied. 4. When organisms are oxygenated in the medium in which they have grown, the cellular contents of GSH+GSSG and cysteine+cystine fall very markedly and homolanthionine is formed. Both the fall in aminolaevulinate synthetase activity and the changes in sulphur metabolism are largely prevented by the addition of compounds which stimulate synthesis of cysteine de novo or inhibit the conversion of cysteine S into homocysteine S. 5. The maximum aminolaevulinate synthetase activity was directly proportional to the GSH+GSSG content of all cell preparations. In glutathione-depleted extracts the ;low'-activity enzyme could be re-activated in vitro by the addition of GSH, GSSG, cysteine or cystine, whereas in extracts with a high glutathione content the ;high'-activity enzyme was unaffected by these sulphur compounds. 6. The activation of low-activity enzyme with exogenous sulphur compounds was prevented by excluding air or by adding NADH. Studies with purified enzyme indicate that sulphur compounds do not interact directly with the enzyme, but that their effect is mediated by a number of other endogenous factors.

1. A low-molecular-weight activator of 5-aminolaevulinate synthetase was detected in extracts of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. The compound activates the enzyme extracted from oxygenated semi-anaerobically grown organisms by a factor of 6-8. 2. The activator was extensively purified, but owing to the exceedingly small amounts that could be extracted in the active form its structure was not determined. 3. The activator contains an acetylatable amino group; it is more stable at acid than at alkaline pH values; it is stable to treatment with I(2)-KI or potassium ferricyanide, but irreversibly inactivated by Na(2)S(2)O(4) or NaBH(4). 4. The chromatographic, electrophoretic, chemical and stability properties of the activator are similar to those of pteridines; purified activator preparations contain pteridines, as shown by their fluorescence spectrum. This does not, however, constitute an identification of the activator. 5. The activator enhances the activity of crude and partially purified enzyme and does not appear to require other endogenous factors or a supply of air to produce activation. Activation of the purified enzyme, however, requires the presence of either pyridoxal phosphate or sodium succinate. In the absence of both these factors the activator produces a time- and temperature-dependent decay of activity.