Respiratory inhibition and reversible fusion of frog blastomeres

Rotenone and high doses of chloramphenicol, both of which specifically inhibit electron transport between NADH and flavoprotein in the respiratory chain, caused fully separated Rana pipiens blastomeres to refuse, as shown by syncytium counts on embryos reconstructed from serial sections. With chloramphenicol, the effect was completely reversible: re-cleavage and normal development followed drug removal. The blastomere fusion effect was not produced by the succinic dehydrogenase-specific respiratory inhibitor, thenoyltrifluoroacetone, nor by a non-mitochondrial protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, both of which instead produced simple arrest of cleavage.