Comparative microphotometric studies of DNA and arginine in plant nuclei

Abstract

Photometric measurements have been made of the amounts of stain formed in the Feulgen (DNA) and Sakaguchi (arginine) reactions in plant nuclei of differing ploidy. In nuclei of diploid and tetraploid plants of Tradescantia ohioensis and of diploid, triploid and tetraploid plants of Ranunculus ficaria, both Feulgen and Sakaguchi values gave ratios which agreed closely with the ratios of the number of chromatids known to be present. The Feulgen/ Sakaguchi ratio for each of the different types of nuclei measured was very similar both within and between these two species. In the interphase nuclei of five different species, both Feulgen and Sakaguchi values gave bimodal distributions. In the nuclei of differentiating cells, the proportions of values falling into each of the 2C, 4C or 8C classes were the same for both stains. Measurements of the amounts of both stains were made in sequence on the same individual nuclei and a positive correlation found between the two sets of values. In nuclei from differentiating cells of Vicia faba primary roots, the Feulgen/Sakaguchi ratio decreased with increasing distance from the apex. The following suggestions were made from the results: (a) that there is some degree of quantitative constancy of nuclear arginine which parallels that of DNA; (b) that the amount of nuclear arginine, like that of DNA, is doubled during synthesis in interphase; (c) that the syntheses of DNA and arginine in interphase, if not simultaneous, at least occur within the same relatively short period; (d) that there may be a difference in the DNA/arginine ratio between the nuclei of meristematic and differentiating cells.