Studies on Differentiation without Cleavage in Chaetopterus: Effects of Inhibition of DNA Synthesis with Aphidicolin |
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| Authors: | J BRACKET B DE PETROCELLIS H ALEXANDRE |
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| Institution: | Laboratory of Molecular Embryology, CNR, Arco Felice (Naples), Italy;Department of Molecular Biology, Universitélibre de Bruxelles, Belgium;Universitàdi Napoli, II Facoltàdi Medicina e Chirurgia, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy |
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| Abstract: | The effects of aphidicolin – a powerful inhibitor of DNA polymerase α and of DNA replication – on normal development and on differentiation without cleavage of Chaetopterus eggs have been studied with cytological, cytochemical, and biochemical methods. The experiments show that the initial period of pseudocleavage can take place in the absence of nuclear DNA synthesis, but further development (segregation, hatching, ciliation) requires DNA synthesis. However ciliated unicellular larvae can be obtained under conditions where the DNA content of the embryos in only 40% of the controls. In fertilized eggs, aphidicolin immediately stops cleavage. The significance of these results is discussed. |
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