Macro- and micronuclei of Tetrahymena pyriformis: a model system for studying the structure and function of eukaryotic nuclei.

Abstract

SYNOPSISThe macro‐ and micronucleus of Tetrahymena pyriformis are formed from a common diploid synkaryon during conjugation. Shortly after the 2nd postzygotic division, distinct morphologic and physiologic differences develop between the 2 nuclei. Micronuclei remain small, presumably diploid, and electronmicroscopic observations indicate that micronuclear DNA is contained in a dense, fibrous, chromosome‐like coil. Macronuclei contain considerably more DNA than micronuclei, and the DNA of the macronucleus is found largely in the chromatin bodies typical of ciliate nuclei. The functional differences between macro‐ and micronuclei in vegetative cells also are striking. The template activity of DNA in the micronucleus is highly restricted compared to that in the macronucleus. Micronuclei synthesize and contain little RNA, and do not contain either nucleoli or ribonucleoprotein granules. Macronuclei, on the other hand, synthesize and contain large amounts of RNA and have many nucleoli and ribonucleoprotein granules. Macro‐ and micronuclei also have distinct differences in the timing of DNA synthesis during the cell cycle and in the timing and mechanism of nuclear division. Finally, during conjugation the macronucleus becomes pycnotic and disappears while the micronucleus undergoes meiosis and fertilization, ultimately giving rise to new macro‐ and new micronuclei. In short, the macro‐ and micronuclei of Tetrahymena provide an excellent system for studying the molecular mechanisms by which the same (or related) genetic information is maintained in different structural and functional states.Methods have been devised to isolate and purify macro‐ and micronuclei of Tetrahymena in the hope of correlating differences in the nucleoprotein composition of these nuclei with differences in their structure and function. The DNAs of macro‐ and micronuclei have been found to differ markedly in their content of a methylated base, N6‐methyl adenine, and major differences in the histones of the 2 nuclei have been observed. Macronuclei contain histones similar to those found in vertebrate nuclei, while 2 major histone fractions seem to be missing in micronuclei. In addition, histone fraction F2A1 which is found in multiple, acetylated forms in macronuclei, is present only as a single, unacetylated form in micronuclei.