RNA Synthesis in Phaseolus Chloroplasts: I. RIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS IN CHLOROPLAST PREPARATIONS FROM PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L. LEAVES AND SOLUBILIZATION OF THE RNA POLYMERASE

Chloroplast preparations from the young primary leaves of Phaseolusvulgaris L. cv. Canadian Wonder carry out the DNA-dependentincorporation of UTP into RNA at rates between 8 and 14 pmolUTP µg^–1 chlorophyll h^–1. It is estimatedthat 90% of the activity was localized in the chloroplasts.The incorporation proceeded for between 20 and 30 min at 35°C. The maximum rates of RNA synthesis were attained atpH 8.3, in the presence of 15 mM MgCl₂. Chloroplasts were alsoactive, to a lesser extent, with 1.5 mM MnCl₂. The simultaneouspresence of MnCl₂ and MgCl₂ resulted in inhibition of activity.Nuclear material prepared from young P. vulgaris leaves incorporatedUTP at a rate of about 12 pmol UTP µg^–1 DNA h^–1.On a chloroplast (Tritonsoluble) DNA basis chloroplast activitywas over 40-fold that of nuclei. Methods of solubilizing chloroplastRNA polymerase were explored. Yields of over 75% were achieved,but methods suitable for one species were not always successfulwhen applied to another. The highest yields of the P. vulgarisenzyme were obtained using EDTA and KCl. All methods resultedin solubilization of DNA. RNA synthesis by the soluble P. vulgarisenzyme proceeded for more than 40 min at 35 °C.     

RIBONUCLEIC ACID AND PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN MITOTIC HELA CELLS

HeLa cells arrested in mitosis were obtained in large numbers, with only very slight interphase cell contamination, by employing the agitation method of Terasima and Tolmach, and Robbins and Marcus. Protein synthesis and RNA synthesis were almost completely suppressed in mitotic cells. Active polyribosomes were nearly absent in mitotic cells as compared with interphase cells treated in the same way. Cell-free protein synthesis and RNA polymerase activity were also greatly depressed in extracts of metaphase cells. The deoxyribonucleoprotein (DNP) of condensed chromosomes from mitotic cells was less efficient as a template for Escherichia coli RNA polymerase than was DNP from interphase cells, although isolated DNA from both sources was equally active as a primer. Despite very poor endogenous amino acid incorporation by extracts of metaphase cells, polyuridylate stimulated phenylalanine incorporation by a larger factor in mitotic cell extracts than it did in interphase cell extracts. These results suggest that RNA synthesis is suppressed in mitotic cells because the condensed chromosomes cannot act as a template, and that protein synthesis is depressed at least in part because messenger RNA becomes unavailable to ribosomes. This conclusion was supported by the demonstration that cells arrested in metaphase supported multiplication of normal yields of poliovirus, thereby showing that the mitotic cell is capable of considerable synthesis of RNA and protein.     

RIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS DURING MITOSIS AND MEIOSIS IN THE MOUSE TESTIS

The pattern of ribonucleic acid synthesis during germ cell development, from the stem cell to the mature spermatid, was studied in the mouse testis, by using uridine-H³ or cytidine-H³ labeling and autoradiography. Incorporation of tritiated precursors into the RNA occurs in spermatogonia, resting primary spermatocytes (RPS), throughout the second half of pachytene stage up to early diplotene, and in the Sertoli cells. Cells in leptotene, zygotene, and in the first half of pachytene stage do not synthesize RNA. No RNA synthesis was detected in meiotic stages later than diplotene, with the exception of a very low rate of incorporation in a fraction of secondary spermatocytes and very early spermatids. At long intervals after administration of the tracer, as labeled cells develop to more mature stages, late stages of spermatogenesis also become labeled. The last structures to become labeled are the residual bodies of Regaud. Thus, the RNA synthesized during the active meiotic stages is partially retained within the cell during further development. The rate of RNA synthesis declines gradually with the maturation from type A to intermediate to type B spermatogonia and to resting primary spermatocytes. "Dormant" type A spermatogonia synthesize little or no RNA. The incorporation of RNA precursors occurs exclusively within the nucleus: at later postinjection intervals the cytoplasm also becomes labeled. In spermatogonia all mitotic stages, except metaphase and anaphase, were shown to incorporate uridine-H³. RNA synthesis is then a continuous process throughout the cell division cycle in spermatogonia (generation time about 30 hours), and stops only for a very short interval (1 hour) during metaphase and anaphase.     

THYMIDINE METABOLISM AND DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS IN THE DEVELOPING RAT BRAIN

—In growing rat brain, the specific activity of DNA at 12 h after the subcutaneous injection of [³H]thymidine underwent a sharp rise during the first 6 days of life, dropping just as precipitously by 15 days, thereafter continuing to decrease with increasing age. When [³H]thymidine was given to 6-day-old rats, a considerable amount was taken up immediately into the brain. Thymidine taken up into the acid-soluble fraction was readily phosphorylated to its nucleotides, thymidine mono-, di-, and triphosphate (TMP, TDP and TTP) within only 30 min following injection. The highest specific activity was found in TTP. The incorporation of of [3H]thymidine into DNA took place over a longer period of time after injection.     

STUDIES ON PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN TOMATO COTYLEDONS AND LEAVES. I. PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND TURNOVER IN INTACT COTYLEDONS AND LEAVES

1. Details of aseptic culture of virus-free tomato seedlings usedin comparative in vivo and in vitro studies on protein synthesisare described.
2. Developmental changes in the levels of DNA,RNA, protein andchlorophyll content of seedling cotyledonsand leaves were recorded,and are related to protein synthesis.
3. Incorporation of isotopically labeled carbon into proteinwasfollowed both by photosynthetic uptake of ¹⁴CO₂ and by theuptakeof ¹⁴C-amino acids through the roots.
4. A marked stimulationby light of ¹⁴C uptake was observed, andthe higher rate of¹⁴C incorporation from ¹⁴CO₂ than from ¹⁴C-aminoacids intothe protein fraction is discussed in relation tothe pathwaysof protein synthesis in tomato leaves, and alsowith regardto protein turnover.

¹Present address: Dept. of Horticultural Science, Universityof Wisconsin, U.S.A.     

EMBRYOGENIC DETERMINATION AND RIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS IN POLLEN GRAINS OF HYOSCYAMUS NIGER (HENBANE)

³H-uridine administered as a one- or two-hour pulse to embryogenic pollen grains of freshly excised anthers of Hyoscyamus niger (henbane) was autoradiographically localized in embryoids formed during a subsequent chase. Although continuous incubation of anthers in actinomycin D inhibited embryogenesis, a small percentage of potentially embryogenic pollen escaped inhibition if anthers were grown for at least one hour in the basal medium before actinomycin treatment. The results imply that certain pollen grains become embryogenically determined immediately after culture of the anther and that this is accompanied by the synthesis of ribonucleic acid.     

STUDIES ON PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN TOMATO COTYLEDONS AND LEAVES. II. INTERMEDIATE STAGES OF PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

1. The activities of RNase, ATPase and proteolytic enzymes inextractsof tomato leaves have been investigated with regardto detrimentaleffects on protein synthesis. The use of coppersulphate asan inhibitor of RNase is described.
2. The effectof microbial contamination on amino acid uptake hasbeen studiedin relationship with cell-free systems, and thehigh activitynoted underlines the necessity for aseptic procedures.
3. Methodsfor the preparation of cell-free systems capable ofamino acidactivation and incorporation into protein in an asepticenvironmentare discussed.

¹Present address: Dept. of Horticultural Science, Universityof Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A.     

Senescence of Rice Leaves : VII. PROLINE ACCUMULATION IN SENESCING EXCISED LEAVES

Proline content increased greatly in detached rice (Oryza sativa cv. Taichung Native 1) leaves during senescence. There was a slight but significant increase in proline level after one day of incubation, and, subsequently, proline accumulated relatively rapidly. By 4 days after excision, the level of proline had increased 30- to 50-fold, which is similar to the level seen in the water-stressed detached rice leaves. It is unlikely that the proline accumulation in detached leaves is to be derived solely from protein hydrolysis, since the addition of l-glutamic acid increased the proline level during senescence. The proline analog, 3,4-dehydroproline, did not affect the level of proline during senescence. It seems that accumulation of proline may, at least in part, result from an increased rate of synthesis, possibly due to a disruption of the normal feedback inhibition of proline synthesis. Potassium cyanide and 2,4-dinitrophenol strongly inhibited proline accumulation, indicating that some energy compound(s) may participate in proline accumulation during senescence of excised rice leaves.     

COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF SOME ANTIMETABOLITES ON RIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS AND INDUCTION OF NITRATE REDUCTASE IN CAULIFLOWER LEAF TISSUES

The effect of three antibiotics, actidione, patulin and polymyxinB, one synthetic antimetabolite, l-2-dichloro-4(p-nitrobenzenesulphonylamido)-5-nitrobenzene (DCDNS) and ribonuclease on the induction of nitratereductase, gross ribonucleic acid content and the incorporationof phosphorus into the ribonucleic acid of cauliflower leaveshas been studied. The effects of inhibitor concentration and duration of incubationon the inhibition of enzyme production were tested. The induction of the enzyme by molybdenum was inhibited by allcompounds tested. Induction by nitrate was inhibited by actidione,patulin and ribonuclease. Gross ribonucleic acid was decreasedby ribonuclease, patulin and DCDNS in nitrate-starved tissue. Phosphorus incorporation into ribonucleic acid was inhibitedby actidione, patulin, polymyxin B and DCDNS when infiltratedwith nitrate into nitrate starved tissue and by patulin, polymyxinB and DCDNS with molybdenum as the inducer in molybdenum deficienttissue. Ribonuclease in nitrate starved tissue increased theincorporation of phosphorus. Some possible explanations of theseresults are advanced. ¹Present address: Aligarh Muslim University, U. P., India.     

RNA SYNTHESIS IN CHINESE HAMSTER CELLS : II. Increase in Rate of RNA Synthesis during G1

Cultures of mitotic Chinese hamster cells, prepared by mechanical selection, were pulse-labeled with methionine-methyl-¹⁴C or with uridine-³H at different stages in the life cycle. The rate of ¹⁴C incorporation into 18S RNA was measured, as was the rate of uridine-³H incorporation into total RNA for both monolayer and suspension cultures. The rate of incorporation increased continuously throughout interphase in a fashion inconsistent with a gene-dosage effect upon RNA synthesis.     

DNA Synthesis in Chloroplasts: III. THE DNA GYRASE INHIBITORS NALIDIXIC ACID AND NOVOBIOCIN INHIBIT BOTH THYMIDINE INCORPORATION INTO DNA AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC OXYGEN EVOLUTION BY ISOLATED CHLOROPLASTS

The influence of two DNA gyrase inhibitors, nalidixic acid andnovobiocin, on DNA synthesis in isolated pea chloroplasts wasexamined. Novobiocin at 1–5 mol m^–3 markedly lowered[³H]thymidine incorporation into DNA (30–95% inhibition);while less effective, nalidixic acid at similar concentrationsalso diminished incorporation (25–35% inhibition). Theinhibition of chloroplast DNA (ctDNA) biosynthesis by nalidixicacid and novobiocin was confirmed by autoradiography and densitometry.These data are consistent with the view that chloroplasts containa DNA gyrase-like enzyme which is necessary for DNA replication.Despite this, interpretation of the results is not straightforward,as both nalidixic acid and novobiocin also inhibited photosyntheticactivity. Each substance (at millimolar levels) reduced ferricyanide-dependentO₂ evolution in isolated chloroplasts. However, at lower concentrations(0.05–0.3 mol m^–3) they slightly enhanced photosyntheticelectron flow; thus, these compounds may act as uncouplers ofphotophosphorylation as well as inhibitors of electron transport.Nalidixic acid and novobiocin at relatively low (0.1 mol m^–3)concentrations also strongly reduced CO₂-dependent O₂ evolution(an index of CO₂ photo-assimilation) in isolated plastids. Thus,caution must be exercised in assessing results from studiesin which nalidixic acid and novobiocin are used with whole plants,cells, protoplasts or isolated chloroplasts. Key words: Chloroplast, DNA replication, novobiocin, nalidixic acid, DNA gyrase     

RIBONUCLEIC ACID-POLYPHOSPHATE FROM ALGAE II. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ISOLATED COMPLEXES

The properties of RNA-polyphosphate isolated from Anabaena orsynchronously grown Chlorella were examined. Changes in theseproperties at intervals in the life cycle of Chlorella werestudied by the metachromatic reaction for polyphosphate, acid-labilephosphorus, ultraviolet absorption, enzymatic digestion, andcharcoal adsorption. These analyses were made before and afterexhaustive dialysis against distilled water. Before dialysis the polyphosphate gave little metachromaticreaction. Denaturation, induced by dialysis, released the polyphosphatechains for the metachromatic reaction, but the polyphosphatestill was not dialyzable. Dialysis against salt caused no denaturation.Alkaline hydrolysis reduced specific metachrernasy without releasingorthaphosphate. Yeast polyphosphatase destroyed RNA-polyphosphatemetachromasy without releasing much polyphosphate for dialysis.These properties of the RNA-polyphosphate indicate that bothweak bonding and covalent linkages may be involved in the unionof the two substances. Each DEAE-cellulose fraction of RNA-polyphosphate changed inproperties during stages of synchronous Chlorella growth. RNA-polyphosphatein the three areas eluted by highest salt concentration exhibitedthe most striking characteristics for linkage by both weak andcovalent bonds during the first 9-hr of algae growth when thesecomplexes were being synthesized. ¹Journal article number 2909 of the Michigan Agricultural ExperimentStation. Present address: Division of Radiation and Organisms, SmithsonianInstitution, Washington 25, D. C.     

不同地域牛蒡叶绿原酸的含量比较及其抑菌实验

用80％的酸化乙醇(pH2-3)提取不同地域的牛蒡叶,提取液经减压浓缩和石油醚脱色后,分别用polyamide柱层析法和硅胶薄层层析法分离纯化绿原酸,测定并比较产自不同地域牛蒡叶中的绿原酸含量差异,并对纯化的绿原酸进行抑菌实验。结果表明,采自不同地域牛蒡叶中的绿原酸含量存在着差异,野生牛蒡叶的绿原酸含量最低,种植和盐碱地种植牛蒡叶绿原酸的含量差别不大。纯化的绿原酸对4种实验菌株大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、枯草杆菌、藤黄微球菌均存在着一定的抑制作用。     

酪氨酸对hCG诱导兔离体卵泡蛋白质及RNA合成的影响

为了深入探讨酪氨酸抗hCG致孕酮生成作用的机制,本文利用~3H-亮氨酸和~3H-尿嘧啶掺和入兔离体卵泡的方法,观察了酪氨酸对蛋白质及RNA合成的影响。结果显示,酪氨酸对hCG诱导的蛋白质、RNA合成具有明显的抑制作用,但同剂量的多巴胺或苯丙氨酸却无效。酪氨酸还抑制cAMP的生成,并可拮抗外源cAMP诱导蛋白质及RNA的合成。上述结果表明,酪氨酸可通过使cAMP生成减少和进入细胞内直接发挥作用两种方式抑制hCG诱导的兔卵泡蛋白质及RNA的合成。酪氨酸的这一作用可能与其抑制孕酮生成有密切的关系。     

Cytokinin-Active Ribonucleosides in Phaseolus RNA: I. IDENTIFICATION IN tRNA FROM ETIOLATED PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L. SEEDLINGS

The cytokinin-active ribonucleosides present in tRNA from etiolated Phaseolus vulgaris L. seedlings have been isolated and identified as cis-ribosylzeatin, 2-methylthio-ribosylzeatin, and N⁶-(Δ²-isopentenyl)-adenosine. The structures of the compounds were established on the basis of their chromatographic properties and the mass spectra of their permethylated and perdeuteromethylated derivatives. Cis-ribosylzeatin was the major cytokinin-active constituent of tRNA from this source.