Studies in which (14)C-labeled precursors were fed to etiolated barley leaves (Hordeum vulgare L. var. Proctor) yielded chlorophyll and protoheme having similar specific radioactivities. These findings indicate: (a) there appears to be a rapid turnover of protoheme in the absence of net synthesis; (b) both pigments probably originate from a single 5-aminolevulinic acid pool; (c) the efficient utilization of glutamate-1-(14)C and the relatively poor utilization of glycine-2-(14)C suggest that 5-aminolevulinic acid is probably synthesized by a pathway other than 5-aminolevulinic acid synthetase (succinyl CoA-glycine succinyltransferase) in agreement with previously published work; (d) protoheme turnover appears to be faster under conditions which allow for rapid chlorophyll accumulation; (e) difference spectra indicate that mitochondrial cytochromes make a relatively minor contribution to the total heme in barley leaves. These findings are discussed in the light of current knowledge about tetrapyrrole regulation in photosynthetic organisms.