Abstract
THE amount of DNA complementary to ribosomal RNA (rDNA) has been shown to be constant in several tissues varying in rRNA synthesis1,2. There is, however, a dramatic exception to this in amphibian and insect oocytes3–5, where amplification of the rDNA occurs and results in high rates of rRNA synthesis during oogenesis6. Recently, Stevenin et al.7 reported that in rat brain the amount of DNA complementary to rRNA was 0.15 per cent, while in liver it has been reported to be only 0.046 per cent of the genome8. Because the rate of rRNA synthesis is the same or even higher in liver than in brain9, in all stages of development, these studies suggested that amplification of rDNA occurs in brain for some function other than elevated rRNA synthesis. We undertook the present study in order to clarify this point.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ritossa, F. M., Atwood, K., Lindsley, D., and Spiegelman, S., Nat. Cancer Inst. Monog., 23, 449 (1966).
Brown, D. D., and Weber, C. S., J. Mol. Biol., 34, 661 (1968).
Miller, jun., O. L., Nat. Cancer Inst. Monog., 23, 53 (1966).
Gall, J. G., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 60, 553 (1968).
Gall, J. G., Macgregor, H. C., and Kidston, M. E., Chromosoma, 26, 169 (1969).
Brown, D. D., in Current Topics in Development Biology (edit. by Monroy, A., and Moscona, A.), 2, 47 (Academic Press, New York, 1967).
Stevenin, J., Semec, J., Jacob, M., and Mandel, P., J. Mol. Biol., 33, 777 (1968).
Steele, W. J., J. Biol. Chem., 243, 3333 (1968).
Nievel, J. G., and Kirby, K. S., Biochem. J., 101, 7c (1966).
Ritossa, F. M., and Spiegelman, S., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 53, 737 (1965).
Kirby, K. S., in Methods in Enzymology (edit. by Colowick, P., and Kaplan, N. O. J.), 12 (B), 87 (Academic Press, New York, 1968).
Gillespie, D., and Spiegelman, S., J. Mol. Biol., 12, 829 (1965).
Appel, S. H., Nature, 213, 1253 (1967).
Jacob, M., Semec, J., Garel, J. P., and Mandel, P., J. Neurochem., 14, 169 (1967).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MOHAN, J., DUNN, A. & CASOLA, L. Ribosomal DNA in the Rat. Nature 223, 295–296 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/223295a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/223295a0
This article is cited by
-
Ribosomal DNA and its expression in Drosophila melanogaster during growth and development
Molecular and General Genetics MGG (1976)
-
Unchanged r-RNA-gene dose in mice liver cells of different developmental stages
Experientia (1975)
-
Loss of Genes coding for Ribosomal RNA in Ageing Brain Cells
Nature (1972)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.