Replicon properties of chromosomal DNA fibers and the duration of DNA synthesis of sunflower root-tip meristem cells at different temperatures

Abstract

Chromosomal DNA fiber autoradiography was used to examine the replicon properties of root-tip meristem cells of Helianthus annuus intact seedlings grown at temperatures from 10 to 38° C and those of root-tip cells grown in vitro at 23°. The average replicon size was approximately 22 μm and it did not change with temperature nor when the roots were grown in culture. The average fork rate was 6 μm/h at 10° and it rose gradually to 12 μm/h at 38°. The responses of replication fork movement and of the duration of S to temperature were of three types: those in which change in fork rate was primarily (more than 90%) responsible for change in the duration of S, those in which the fork rate remained constant while S increased nearly twofold, and those in which the duration of S increased even though the replication forks were moving faster. The first type of response listed was observed at temperatures from 20 to 35°, the second type listed was observed at 10 to 15°, and the third, was produced at 38°.