Summary
The selective staining method for RNA and ribonucleoproteins developed by Bernhard was used to demonstrate RNA-positive structures in the chromosomes of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans. The localization pattern of structures containing RNA suggests that most of the RNA is complexed with proteins and may have a metabolic function but a part of it is found distributed regularly in relation to chromatin organization. This together with the earlier observations of the effect of ribonuclease supports the idea that the superhelical loops of dinoflagellate chromosomal DNA are stabilized by RNA or RNA-protein complexes. Supposedly, such a “housekeeping” RNA may have a functional role also in the maintenance and regulation of chromosome organization in relation to genetic activity.
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Soyer, MO., Haapala, O.K. Electron microscopy of RNA in dinoflagellate chromosomes. Histochemistry 42, 239–246 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00492656
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00492656