Studies on the Growth in Culture of Plant Cells: VI. NUCLEIC ACID METABOLISM OFACER PSEUDOPLATANUSL. CELL SUSPENSIONS

Changes in the nucleic acid content of cell suspension cultures of Acer pseudoplatanus, L. have been investigated. Both RNA and DNA contents rise sharply early in the period of culture and before any significant increase in cell number. With the onset of rapid cell division there is a rapid decline in DNA content per cell to reach the value which persists during the subsequent period of growth. The high level of RNA established at the beginning of the phase of rapid cell division, declines gradually as growth proceeded. More detailed investigation of the RNA revealed no signficant changes, during the 3-week period of culture, in either its base composition or in the relative amounts of its different constituent molecular species.