Distribution of radioactive phosphorus among the progeny of a single labeled bacterium

Abstract

The distribution of radioactive phosphorus among the progeny of a single labeled cell of the bacterium Micrococcus cryophilus has been studied through the eighth generation progeny by using micromanipulative and radioautograph techniques. The DNA of this bacterium cannot be organized into twenty-five or less equivalent stable subunits whose phosphorus integrity is maintained on division. There cannot be one such subunit with more than 10 per cent of the cell DNA. The rate of growth of individual bacteria seems to be correlated with a small asymmetry in phosphorus (possibly RNA phosphorus) distribution at division.