Abstract
MOST cells contain deoxyribonucleases but do not degrade their nuclear DNA. This paradox is sometimes explained by assuming that the nucleuses do not have access to DNA, from which they may be separated by the nuclear membrane. Another possibility is that cells contain a component which stabilises DNA even in the presence of nucleases. We show here that such a component is present in the frog oocyte, a type of cell in which deoxyribonucleases have been repeatedly demonstrated1,2. Although we have not characterised this component, we show that it is localised in the nucleus; it seems to be absent from cytoplasm but may leak into it when the nuclear membrane is ruptured. The DNA whose stability we have investigated is a small circular molecule introduced into the oocyte by microinjection, but the conclusions probably apply also to the endogenous nuclear DNA of the oocyte, and perhaps to the nuclear DNA of eukaryotic cells in general.
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WYLLIE, A., GURDON, J. & PRICE, J. Nuclear localisation of an oocyte component required for the stability of injected DNA. Nature 268, 150–152 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/268150a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/268150a0
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