Alternative states of Amoebae. Studies on Nuclear RNA and DNA synthesis

Actively proliferating Amoebae were kept in the interphase part of the cell cycle for prolonged periods by restricting the food supply. When the cells were returned to normal food supply, the clones failed to grow exponentially. The clones in this period of growth phase were in an 'alternative state' as opposed to their normal state of active proliferation. Nuclear RNA and DNA synthesis of cells in this alternative state was studied. Nuclei from cells in this alternative state were implanted into normal cells to study the effects on the synthesizing activities of the host cells. The results showed that there was a marked reduction in DNA and RNA synthesis in the host nucleus in the binucleated cells.