ABSTRACT
The properties of Escherichia coli mutant D2-47LT indicate that it is temperature-sensitive for a protein required for the initiation of chromosome replication. The results of several different experiments are consistent with this hypothesis, and no support was found for the alternate hypotheses tested. Although the strain is usually unable to initiate replication at 42 C, some of the initiation proteins are apparently synthesized at the restrictive temperature. This can cause initiation on partially replicated, but not completed, chromosomes. It appears that the temperature-sensitive protein is required for initiation on completed chromosomes.
Subject(s)
Chromosomes, Bacterial/growth & development , Escherichia coli , Temperature , Bacterial Proteins/biosynthesis , Carbon Isotopes , Centrifugation, Density Gradient , Chloramphenicol/pharmacology , DNA, Bacterial/biosynthesis , Escherichia coli/drug effects , Escherichia coli/metabolism , Mutation , RNA, Bacterial/biosynthesis , Thymine/metabolismABSTRACT
Synchronized cultures of rapidly growing E. coli B/r cells were starved for a required amino acid at various cell ages to allow ongoing chromosome replication to be completed without initiation of new replication cycles. It has been found that when such synchronized cultures are exposed to the mutagen nitrosoguanidine, genetic markers just in the process of replication show a markedly higher mutation rate than markers elsewhere on the chromosome. The number of growing points on the chromosome at each cell age can then be determined by observing the nitrosoguanidine-induced mutation rates for specific genetic markers on the genome. These experiments indicate that there exist multiple growing points on the genome for about ten minutes during the life cycle when the cells are growing with a doubling time of 28 minutes.
Subject(s)
Chromosomes, Bacterial/growth & development , Escherichia coli/growth & development , Mutagens/pharmacology , Aging , DNA Replication , Genetics, Microbial , Guanidines/pharmacology , Mutation , Nitroso Compounds/pharmacology , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis was measured during microcyst germination in Myxococcus xanthus by radioactive thymidine incorporation, autoradiography, and chemical analysis. Microcysts contained an average of 6.6 conserved units of DNA, corresponding to 3 to 4 chromosomes per cell. Correlation of the DNA content and chromosome number of microcysts indicated that the molecular weight of the nonreplicating M. xanthus chromosome is 4.9 x 10(9) daltons. DNA synthesis was initiated 3.5 to 4 hr after induction of germination. From 4 to 6 hr, the rate of synthesis was constant and the accumulation was linear. After a lag period (6 to 6.5 hr), the rate of DNA synthesis increased, reaching a second plateau at 9 hr. From 9 to 11 hr, the rate was again constant and the accumulation was linear. Cellular division during germination showed an unusual kind of synchrony. A model is presented that accounts for chromosomal replication and cell division during microcyst germination.
