Abstract
Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) has been shown to facilitate the entrance into cells of substances normally excluded by permeability barriers. Treatment of isolated Chironomid salivary glands with DMSO and DNase resulted in destruction of the polytene chromosomes. DNase by itself produced no observable changes in cell morphology, and it is assumed that it is excluded from the cell because of the size of the molecule. Light and electron microscope studies of nuclei digested in situ reveal uniformly distributed, weakly Feulgenpositive material which consisted of fibres and granules. The undigested granules in treated nuclei appear to be mainly ribosomes and messenger RNA-protein complexes. No cytoplasmic effects of DNase were detected, but DMSO produced rather extreme structural alterations. These alterations appeared to be consistent with the uptake of water, and consisted mainly of bloating of membrane-bounded structures. Evidence is presented which indicates that these physical alterations may not seriously affect functions such as RNA synthesis and respiration.
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