Abstract
IN bacterial cultures undergoing synchronous growth, deoxyribonucleic acid has repeatedly been shown to be synthesized during part of the division cycle only (see review by Campbell, ref. 1). This could, however, be due to the physical or chemical operations used to induce synchronous division and need not reflect the normal pattern of synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid. We have tested this possibility by examining autoradiograms of cells from uninfluenced cultures growing exponentially which had been exposed to thymidine labelled with tritium for short periods. Tritiated thymidine has already proved useful in studies of the mechanism of replication of deoxyribonucleic acid in bacteria2. The present experiments indicate that during normal exponential growth, synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid is virtually continuous.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Campbell, A., Bact. Rev., 21, 263 (1957).
Painter, R. B., Forro, jun., F., and Hughes, W. L., Nature, 181, 328 (1958).
Doniach, I., and Pelc, S. R., Brit. J. Radiol., 23, 184 (1950).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SCHAECHTER, M., BENTZON, M. & MAALØE, O. Synthesis of Deoxyribonucleic Acid during the Division Cycle of Bacteria. Nature 183, 1207–1208 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831207a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1831207a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
The bacterial cell cycle, chromosome inheritance and cell growth
Nature Reviews Microbiology (2019)
-
The effect of auxin on the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into the DNA of pea epicotyls
Planta (1974)
-
Biochemical studies on Anacystis nidulans during its synchronous growth
Archiv f�r Mikrobiologie (1969)
-
Introduction to the problems of differentiation in microorganisms
Folia Microbiologica (1967)