Polytene chromosomes of Oxytricha: Biochemical and morphological changes during macronuclear development in a ciliated protozoan

After conjugation in the ciliated protozoan, Oxytricha, polytene chromosomes are formed during the development of a macronucleus from a micronucleus. Here we report a microscopic study of these chromosomes and an analysis of their DNA. The polytene chromosomes of Oxytricha bear a strong morphological resemblance to the polytene chromosomes of the Dipteran salivary gland. The nucleus of a developing macronuclear anlage contains 120±2 polytene chromosomes and each chromosome has an average of 81 bands; a total of about 10,000 bands per nucleus. At a later stage in development, the number of bands per chromosome is reduced by a factor of four, presumably due to fusion of adjacent bands. The polytene chromosomes then break up into their constituent bands, each of which is encased in a vesicle. There are about 2,700 vesicles per nucleus. — During the growth of polytene chromosomes, there is a change in the relative proportion of sequences in the DNA. The DNA from polytene nuclei has a buoyant density of 1.695 g/cc, significantly lighter than the density of the original micronuclear DNA (1.698 g/cc to 1.702 g/cc). We interpret this buoyant density change to be the result of differential replication of DNA sequences during polytene chromosome growth. A second change in DNA composition occurs after the polytene stage of development, shown by a shift in buoyant density to 1.701 g/cc in the DNA of the mature macronucleus. During this second process, the molecular weight of the DNA is reduced from greater than 50×10⁶ daltons to about 2×10⁶ daltons.This paper is No. VI in the series, DNA of Ciliated Protozoa.