Ultrastructure of the nucleolus during the Chinese hamster cell cycle

Changes in the structure of the nucleolus during the cell cycle of the Chinese hamster cell in vitro were studied. Quantitative electron microscopic techniques were used to establish the size and volume changes in nucleolar structures. In mitosis, nucleolar remnants, "persistent nucleoli," consisting predominantly of ribosome-like granular material, and a granular coating on the chromosomes were observed. Persistent nucleoli were also observed in some daughter nuclei as they were leaving telophase and entering G(1). During very early G(1), a dense, fibrous material characteristic of interphase nucleoli was noted in the nucleoplasm of the cells. As the cells progressed through G(1), a granular component appeared which was intimately associated with the fibrous material. By the middle of G(1), complete, mature nucleoli were present. The nucleolar volume enlarged by a factor of two from the beginning of G(1) to the middle of S primarily due to the accumulation of the granular component. During the G(2) period, there was a dissolution or breakdown of the nucleolus prior to the entry of the cells into mitosis. Correlations between the quantitative aspects of this study and biochemical and cytochemical data available in the literature suggest the following: nucleolar reformation following division results from the activation of the nucleolar organizer regions which transcribe for RNA first appearing in association with protein as a fibrous component (45S RNA) and then later as a granular component (28S and 32S RNA).