Some Electrical Properties of a Nuclear Membrane Examined with a Microelectrode

Electrical potential and resistance were measured with microelectrodes in in situ and isolated nuclei of gland cells of Drosophila flavorepleta. The nucleus-cytoplasm boundary was found to be rather impermeable to ion diffusion. It presents a resistance of the order of 1 Ω cm² and sustains a "resting" potential, the nucleoplasm being about 15 mv negative with respect to the cytoplasm. Both the resistance and potential appear to be associated with the nuclear membrane: the potential declines to zero and the resistance to a fraction of its original value, when the membrane is perforated experimentally.