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Stimulation of cell division and DNA replication in Prototheca richardsi by passage through larval amphibian guts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

T. J. C. Beebee  and
A. L.-C. Wong
T. J. C. Beebee
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
A. L.-C. Wong
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
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Summary

Prototheca richardsi, an unpigmented heterotrophic alga, causes growth inhibition in amphibian larvae and has proved refractory to culture in Vitro. P. richardsi replication is dependent on regular passaging through tadpole digestive systems; uptake of thymidine by free-living Prototheca cells and incorporation into DNA are very low by comparison with leucine uptake and incorporation into protein, but DNA synthesis is detectable in cells isolated from tadpole intestines. DNA replication was elicited 6–8 h after ingestion in protothecans fed to tadpoles and subsequently re-isolated from them, providing that the tadpoles were fed subsequent to the ingestion. It appears that passaging through tadpole intestines provides an essential stimulus to maintaining an active cell division cycle in P. richardsi.

Keywords

Prototheca richardsicell divisionDNA replication
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 107 , Issue 2 , August 1993 , pp. 119 - 124
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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