Lowering of oxygen partial pressure in chemotrophic cultures or reduction of light intensity in phototrophic cultures of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata induced formation of the photosynthetic apparatus. A maximum of mRNA coding for the reaction center (RC) and the light-harvesting 1 B870 antenna complex polypeptides occurred 30 min after induction. Maximal expression of mRNA for B800-B850 antenna proteins appeared with a lag time of about 25 min after RC/B870 mRNA. Pigment-binding polypeptides were inserted into the membrane immediately after mRNA synthesis. It is concluded that the delayed formation of the B800-B850 complex compared to the RC and the B870 complex is caused by sequential expression of the corresponding genes. Biological activity of pigment-protein complexes increased after the incorporation of their polypeptides parallel to the maximum of bacteriochlorophyll synthesis. Studies on mutant strains defective in the formation of pigment-protein complexes suggested that pigment synthesis is of importance for assembly of stable complexes.