Cytoplasmic DNA and basic protein synthesis in Megalobatrachus davidianus oocytes

Development ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-283
Author(s):  
Y. C. Kong ◽  
I. F. Lau ◽  
W. L. Lam ◽  
C. M. Choy

Mature Megalobatrachus oocytes contain 43 µg DNA per oocyte, as compared with 250 pg DNA in a hepatocyte of the same animal. Megalobatrachus oocytes respond to CdR treatment by an increased incorporation of [3H]lysine into basic proteins associated with ooplasmic particles, with an optimal CdR concentration at 2 mM. The nucleolus is the most active site of [3H]lysine incorporation. It is suggested that CdR-stimulated basic protein synthesis is a common biochemical event during amphibian oogenesis. The dose response to CdR treatment may be a function of the c-DNA content or c-DNA synthesis potential in the ooplasm.

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 1347-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Show Juo ◽  
G. Stotzky

Globulins, albumins, and basic proteins were extracted from seeds of red kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and their distribution was in a ratio of about 3:2:1, respectively. The globulin fraction constituted a major portion of the reserve proteins and was hydrolyzed rapidly during germination. More than 90% of the basic proteins, extractable with 0.05 N acetic acid, disappeared 12 days after germination. Although the decrease in total albumin was not as marked as with the other two fractions, a number of components of this fraction disappeared during the early stages of germination, but several new components were detected about 8 days after germination. The apparent synthesis of new globulin components during germination was also observed, but no synthesis of basic protein could be detected.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 381-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Buttgereit ◽  
M. D. Brand ◽  
M. Müller

The influence of ConA on the energy metabolism of quiescent rat thymocytes was investigated by measuring the effects of inhibitors of protein synthesis, proteolysis, RNA/DNA synthesis, Na+K+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase and mitochondrial ATP synthesis on respiration. Only about 50% of the coupled oxygen consumption of quiescent thymocytes could be assigned to specific processes using two different media. Under these conditions the oxygen is mainly used to drive mitochondrial proton leak and to provide ATP for protein synthesis and cation transport, whereas oxygen consumption to provide ATP for RNA/DNA synthesis and ATP-dependent proteolysis was not measurable. The mitogen ConA produced a persistent increase in oxygen consumption by about 30% within seconds. After stimulation more than 80% of respiration could be assigned to specific processes. The major oxygen consuming processes of ConA-stimulated thymocytes are mitochondrial proton leak, protein synthesis and Na+K+-ATPase with about 20% each of total oxygen consumption, while Ca2+-ATPase and RNA/DNA synthesis contribute about 10% each. Quiescent thymocytes resemble resting hepatocytes in that most of the oxygen consumption remains unexplained. In constrast, the pattern of energy metabolism in stimulated thymocytes is similar to that described for Ehrlich Ascites tumour cells and splenocytes, which may also be in an activated state. Most of the oxygen consumption is accounted for, so the unexplained process(es) in unstimulated cells shut(s) off on stimulation.


1962 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rabinovitch ◽  
W. Plaut

Nucleic acid-containing particles in the cytoplasm of Amoeba proteus (cf. reference 1) were counted after acridine orange staining. The number of particles per ameba was found to be correlated with cell age and size. Fresh daughters had a mean particle number of 5400, whereas predivision amebae contained around 11,000 particles. Amebae from two other strains contained similar particles. The particles were found to be clustered in fasted cells and redispersed after feeding. A marked increase in the particle population was noted in anucleate fragments. These results, together with those previously presented, suggest that the particles multiply intracellularly. Their nature and their relationship to previous work on nucleic acid labeling in Amoeba are discussed.


1980 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 375-394
Author(s):  
N.N. Bobyleva ◽  
B.N. Kudrjavtsev ◽  
I.B. Raikov

The DNA content of isolated micronuclei, differentiating macronuclei (macronuclear Anlagen), and adult macronuclei of Loxodes magnus was measured cytofluorimetrically in preparations stained with a Schiff-type reagent, auramine-SO2, following hydrochloric acid hydrolysis. The DNA content of the youngest macronuclear Anlagen proved to be the same as that of telophasic micronuclei (2 c). The Anlagen thus differentiate from micronuclei which are still in G1. The quantity of DNA in the macronuclear Anlagen thereafter rises to the 4-c level, simultaneously with DNA replication in the micronuclei which immediately follows mitosis. In non-dividing animals most micronuclei are already in G2. Adult macronuclei here contain on average 1.5 times more DNA than the micronuclei; their DNA content is about 5–6 c (in some individual nuclei, up to 10 c). These data are consistent with autoradiographic evidence indicating a weak DNA synthesis in the macronuclei of Loxodes and make likely the existence of partial DNA replication (e.g. gene amplification) in the macronuclei. The DNA content of adult macronuclei isolated from dividing animals proved to be significantly smaller than that of macronuclei isolated from non-dividing specimens of the same clone. In 3 clones studied, the former value amounted on average to 71–79, 78 and 95% of the latter, respectively. This drop of DNA content cannot be explained by ‘dilution’ of the old macronuclei with newly formed ones. The quantity of DNA in adult macronuclei thus seems to undergo cyclical changes correlated with cytokinesis, despite the fact that, in Loxodes magnus, the macronuclei themselves never divide and are simply segregated at every cell division. The macronuclei of Loxodes can be termed paradiploid or hyperdiploid.


Cell Calcium ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 322-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maike Friess ◽  
Jens Hammann ◽  
Petr Unichenko ◽  
Heiko J. Luhmann ◽  
Robin White ◽  
...  

1962 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Rabinovitch ◽  
W. Plaut

The incorporation of tritiated thymidine in Amoeba proteus was reinvestigated in order to see if it could be associated with microscopically detectable structures. Staining experiments with basic dyes, including the fluorochrome acridine orange, revealed the presence of large numbers of 0.3 to 0.5 µ particles in the cytoplasm of all cells studied. The effect of nuclease digestion on the dye affinity of the particles suggests that they contain DNA as well as RNA. Centrifugation of living cells at 10,000 g leads to the sedimentation of the particles in the centrifugal third of the ameba near the nucleus. Analysis of centrifuged cells which had been incubated with H3-thymidine showed a very high degree of correlation between the location of the nucleic acid-containing granules and that of acid-insoluble, deoxyribonuclease-sensitive labeled molecules and leads to the conclusion that cytoplasmic DNA synthesis in Amoeba proteus occurs in association with these particles.


1978 ◽  
Vol 169 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Cammer ◽  
Lesley Z. Bieler ◽  
William T. Norton

Degradation of myelin basic protein during incubations with high concentrations of horseradish peroxidase has been demonstrated [Johnson & Cammer (1977) J. Histochem. Cytochem.25, 329–336]. Possible mechanisms for the interaction of the basic protein with peroxidase were investigated in the present study. Because the peroxidase samples previously observed to degrade basic protein were mixtures of isoenzymes, commercial preparations of the separated isoenzymes were tested, and all three degraded basic protein, but to various extents. Three other basic proteins, P2 protein from peripheral nerve myelin, lysozyme and cytochrome c, were not degraded by horseradish peroxidase under the same conditions. Inhibitor studies suggested a minor peroxidatic component in the reaction. Therefore the peroxidatic reaction with basic protein was studied by using low concentrations of peroxidase along with H2O2. Horseradish peroxidase plus H2O2 caused the destruction of basic protein, a reaction inhibited by cyanide, azide, ferrocyanide, tyrosine, di-iodotyrosine and catalase. Lactoperoxidase plus H2O2 and myoglobin plus H2O2 were also effective in destroying the myelin basic protein. Low concentrations of horseradish peroxidase plus H2O2 were not active against other basic proteins, but did destroy casein and fibrinogen. Although high concentrations of peroxidase alone degraded basic protein to low-molecular-weight products, suggesting the operation of a proteolytic enzyme contaminant in the absence of H2O2, incubations with catalytic concentrations of peroxidase in the presence of H2O2 converted basic protein into products with high molecular weights. Our data suggest a mechanism for the latter, peroxidatic, reaction where polymers would form by linking the tyrosine side chains in basic-protein molecules. These data show that the myelin basic protein is unusually susceptible to peroxidatic reactions.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Chim ◽  
Lynnette N Jackson ◽  
Anh M Trinh ◽  
John C Chaput

High resolution crystal structures of DNA polymerase intermediates are needed to study the mechanism of DNA synthesis in cells. Here we report five crystal structures of DNA polymerase I that capture new conformations for the polymerase translocation and nucleotide pre-insertion steps in the DNA synthesis pathway. We suggest that these new structures, along with previously solved structures, highlight the dynamic nature of the finger subdomain in the enzyme active site.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document