1887

Microbiology Society logo

Volume 57, Issue 1

The Biochemical Status of μ Particles in Free

Abstract

SUMMARY

particles of stock 540 (syngen 1) of were isolated and studied. Electron microscopy showed that isolated particles were very similar to bacteria in fine structure, the general appearance being similar to that found by earlier workers. Contamination of the preparations with other cell particles and with the paramecium food bacteria was low. The isolated particles contained DNA, RNA, protein and probably carbohydrate and lipid. The DNA of the particles was characterized by density-gradient centrifugation in CsCl and by determination of Tm. The density of the DNA was estimated to be 1·694 g./c.c., a value very similar to that for the DNA of 540 macronuclei, which was estimated to be 1·693 g./c.c. The Tm was likewise similar, being 82·0°, against 81·8° for Paramecium macronuclear DNA. However, this DNA was associated with the particle, as no such DNA could be prepared from genotypically identical which did not possess particles, and the DNA associated with the particles was not susceptible to DNase action on treatment of isolated particles with the enzyme before DNA extraction. Hence it seems that the particle has a membrane-protected DNA of a similar buoyant density to the DNA. Isolated particles possessed an active DNA-dependent system capable of the incorporation of ribonucleoside triphosphates into an acid-insoluble product. The reaction needed the presence of ATP, GTP, and UTP for optimal activity, and had an absolute dependence on Mg. The reaction was inhibited by actinomycin D, and a ribonuclease-sensitive product was synthesized.

  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
© Society for General Microbiology 1969
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-61
1969-07-01
2024-04-27
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/micro/57/1/mic-57-1-61.html?itemId=/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-61&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Anderson J. F., Preer J. R., Jun J., Preer L. B., Bray M. 1964; Studies on killer particles from Paramecium; structure of refractile bodies of K particles. J. Microscopie 3:395
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Beale G. H., Jurand A. 1960; Structure of the matekiller (μ) particles of Paramecium aurelia stock 540. J. gen. Microbiol. 23:243
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Beale G. H., Jurand A. 1966; Three different types of matekiller (μ) particles in Paramecium aurelia (syngen 1). J. Cell Sci. 1:31
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bloor W. R. 1947; A colorimetric procedure for the determination of small amounts of fatty acid. J. biol. Chem. 170:671
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Burton K. 1956; A study of the conditions and mechanism of the diphenylamine reaction for the colorimetric estimation of deoxyribonucleic acid. Biochem. J 62:315
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Dryl S. 1959; Antigenic transformation in Paramecium aurelia after homologous antiserum treatment during autogamy and conjugation. J. Protozool 6:25
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Gibson I. 1965; Electrophoresis of extracts of Paramecium aurelia containing metagons. Proc. R. Soc. B 161538
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Gibson I., Beale G. H. 1962; The mechanism whereby the genes M1 and M2 in Paramecium aurelia stock 540 control the growth of the mate-killer (mu) particles. Genet. Res. 3:24
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Jones I. G. 1965; Studies of the characterisation and structure of the immobilisation antigens of Paramecium aurelia . Biochem. J. 96:17
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Jurand A. 1961; An electron microscope study of food vacuoles in Paramecium aurelia . J. Protozool. 8:125
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Kellenberger E., Ryter A., Séchaud J. 1958; Electron microscope study of DNA containing plasms. II. Vegetative and mature phage DNA as compared with normal bacterial nucleoids in different physiological states. J. biophys. biochem. Cytol. 4:671
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Kung C. 1966; Aerobic respiration of kappa particles in Paramecium aurelia stock 51. J. Protozool. 13:11
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Lowry O. H., Rosebrough N. J., Farr A. L., Randall R. J. 1951; Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J. biol. Chem. 193:265
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Marmur J. 1961; A procedure for the isolation of DNA from micro-organisms. J. molec. Biol. 3:208
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Marmur J., Doty P. 1959; Heterogeneity in DNA’s. I. Dependence on composition of the configurational stability of DNA’s. Nature, Lond. 183:1427
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Mueller J. A. 1962; Induced physiological and morphological changes in the B particle and R body of killer paramecia. J. Protozool 9:26
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Ogur M., Rosen G. 1950; The nucleic acids of plant tissues. 1. The extraction and estimation of deoxypentose nucleic acid and pentose nucleic acid. Archs Biochem. Biophys. 25:262
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Preer J. R., Jun J., Hufnagel L. A., Preer L. B. 1966; Structure and behaviour of R bodies from killer paramecia. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 15:131
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Reynolds E. S. 1963; The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J. Cell Biol. 17:208
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Schildkraut C. L., Marmur J., Doty P. 1962; Determination of the base composition of DNA from its buoyant density in CsCl. J. molec. Biol. 4:430
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Siegel R. W. 1954; Mate killing in Paramecium aurelia variety 8. Physiol. Zoöl. 27:89
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Smith J. E. 1961; Purification of kappa particles of stock 51 of Paramecium aurelia . Am. Zool. 1:390
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Smtth-Sonneborn J. E., Green L., Marmur J. 1963; Deoxyribonucleic acid base composition of Kappa and Paramecium aurelia stock 51. Nature, Lond. 197:385
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Soldo A. T. 1963; Axenic culture of Paramecium. Some observations on the growth behaviour and nutritional requirements of a particle-bearing strain of Paramecium aurelia 299. Ann N. Y. Acad. Sci. 108:380
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Sonneborn T. M. 1950; Methods in the general biology and genetics of Paramecium aurelia . J. exp. Zool. 113:87
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Sonneborn T. M. 1959; Kappa and related particles in Paramecium . Adv. Virus Res. 6:229
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Stevenson I. 1967a; Diaminopimelic acid in the mu particles of Paramecium aurelia . Nature, Lond 215:434
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Stevenson I. 1967b; The biochemical capabilities of the μ particles of Paramecium aurelia stock 540. J. Protozool 14:43
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Stevenson I. 1967c; A method for the isolation of macronuclei from Paramecium aurelia . J. Protozool 14:412
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Suyama Y., Preer J. R., Jun. 1965; Mitochondrial DNA from Protozoa. Genetics 52:1051
     [Google Scholar]
  31. van Wagtendonk W. J., Tanguay R. B. 1963; The chemical composition of lambda in Paramecium aurelia stock 299. J. gen Microbiol. 33:395
     [Google Scholar]
  32. van Wagtendonk W. J., Clark J. A. D., Godoy G. A. 1963; The biological status of Lambda and related particles in Paramecium aurelia . Proc. natn. Acad. SciU.S.A 50835
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Weiss S. B. 1960; Enzymatic incorporation of ribonucleoside triphosphate into the interpolynucleo-tide linkages of ribonucleic acid. Proc. natn. Acad. SciU.S.A 461020
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Weiss S. B. 1962; Biosynthesis of ribopolynucleotides. Fed. Proc. Fedn Am. Socs exp. Biol. 21:120
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-61
Loading
The Biochemical Status of μ Particles in Paramecium aurelia
Microbiology 57, 61 (1969); https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-57-1-61
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-61
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-61
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Most cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error