Laboratory calibrations of the [h]adenine technique for measuring rates of RNA and DNA synthesis in marine microorganisms

The nucleic acid synthesis rates of several marine phytoplankton and bacteria grown in chemostat and batch cultures were measured by using H]adenine. The H]adenine synthesis rates showed excellent agreement with the known rates of synthesis estimated from chemical RNA and DNA data. Under certain conditions, RNA turnover and ATP pool compartmentalization produce inaccuracies in synthesis measurements made with H]adenine. However, accurate measurements of the rates of microbial RNA and DNA synthesis can be made in any environmental situation provided a few simple precautions are observed. First, time course experiments are recommended. Second, experiments should be conducted for periods long enough to avoid problems arising from disequilibria of internal ATP pools. Finally, exogenous H]adenine should remain in the medium over the length of the time course.