Inter- and intramolecular stacking interaction between indole and adeninium rings

Crystals of 1,9-dimethyladeninium-indole-3-acetate (1:1) complex (I) and 9-(3-indol-3-ylpropyl)-1-methyladeninium iodide (II), an inter- or intramolecular model for the stacking interaction between the tryptophanyl residue and the methylated (or protonated) adenine base, were subjected to X-ray analyses. Nearly parallel stacking and interplanar spacing near to 3.4 A were observed between the indole and adeninium rings of both crystals. In particular, one of the two stacking pairs formed in I showed the existence of a partial charge-transfer interaction in their ground states. On the basis of the molecular orbital consideration, the mutual orientation between these stacked aromatic rings is considerably governed by the orbital interaction between the highest occupied molecular orbital of the indole ring and the lowest unoccupied one of the adeninium ring. The ring stacking observed in II was stabilized by the strong coupled dipole-dipole interaction. Absorption, fluorescence, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra indicated the existence of a stacking interaction in the aqueous solutions of I and II, as well as in their crystalline states. The biological implication for the observed stacking interactions has been discussed.     

Incorporation of tritiated thymidine into mitochondrial DNA of the liver and kidney cells of chickens and mice in tissue culture

Summary ³H-thymidine incorporation into mitochondrial DNA of the liver and the kidney cells of chick embryos and newborn mice in tissue culture was shown by means of electron microscope radioautography with accurate localization. In these cells, about 20% of all the mitochondria were labeled at their matrices between the cristae within 4 hours in contact with the radioisotope, which were removed by DN'ase.From the results, it is clear that the mitochondria of avian and mammalian cells in tissue culture synthesize DNA.