[Two peaks of plastidial DNA-synthesis with different light-dependency in the cell cycle of Euglena gracilis]

Interactions between the nucleus and cytoplasmic organelles during the cell cycle of Euglena gracilis in synchronized cultures. IV. An aggregate form of chloroplasts in association with the nucleus appearing prior to chloroplast division

Cells of Euglena gracilis were synchronized by applying a 14-h light:10-h dark regimen under photoautotrophic conditions and a 10-h light:14-h dark regimen under photoorganotrophic conditions. At a stage just prior to chloroplast division in the cell cycle of these synchronized cultures, chloroplasts temporarily gathered in the posterior part of the cell and were connected to each other by many bridges. Part of the chloroplast aggregate surrounded about half of the nuclear surface, making connections or close contacts at many sites. A chromosome was always attached to the inner membrane of the nuclear envelope at the site of association with the chloroplast. The nucleoids in these aggregate chloroplasts, examined by staining with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, a DNA fluorochrome, showed profiles of strings or strands with branchings, under photoorganotrophic conditions at least, and some parts of the branchings came close to the site of association with the nucleus. The association between the chloroplast aggregate and the nucleus was also observed in Euglena cells placed in continuous darkness after synchronization under photoorganotrophic conditions, suggesting that these organellar associations are related to the Euglena cell cycle but are not the result of light:dark alternations used for cell synchronization.

[Periodic, metabolic and structural phenomena in a protist, Euglena gracilis]

Sychronous divisions of Euglena gracilis strain Z can be obtained by various methods. When the cells are cultivated in a medium containing lactate as the sole carbon source, synchronous divisions are observed, independent of the conditions of illumination. Nevertheless, there exists a relationship between the phase of cell division and ther periods of light and darkness applied to the culture. During the cell cycle, the synthesis of macromolecules is discontinuous--this is true of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, ribosomal and nonribosomal RNA, and certain proteins (cytochrome c 558). Cyclic variations in the structure of mitochondria and chloroplasts are observed. In the course of the cell cycle, sequential metabolic processes accompany structural modifications of the organelles. Also, at the beginning of the cycle, at the start of phase G1, the cytoplasmic ribosomes are synthesized, and then, in green euglenids, nonribosomal RNAs are formed. These syntheses of RNA precede enlargement of the chondriome and plastids. In mid-G1 phase, a new synthesis of RNA begins, which precedes synthesis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. At the end of G1 phase, division of organelles starts, beginning with the chondriome and plastids, arranged in a network.

[Regulation of the synthesis of plastid proteins in Euglena gracilis]

The multiplication of chloroplasts in synchronized Euglena gracilis, strain Z, requires the existence of a regulating system which coordinates both the synthesis of plastid proteins coded in the plastom and the synthesis of plastid proteins coded in the genom. At 27°C this system can not be influenced by external factors, such as chloramphenicol and cycloheximide. At 35°C, however, the inhibition of the synthesis of plastom-coded proteins by chloramphenicol increases the synthesis of certain plastid proteins coded in the genom. The inhibitor cycloheximide acts vice versa. These results are in favour of the hypothesis that the synthesis of plastid proteins is coordinated by regulator proteins.