[Relationship between temperature and the ratio of single-stranded to double-stranded nucleic acids in identified mollusk giant neurons]

Using the microspectrofluorimetric technique, the temperature dependence of the synthetic activity of the nucleus and of some cytoplasmic areas in the giant identified neurons of Lymnaea stagnalis was investigated after Acridine Orange staining. The elevation of the environmental temperature from 4 degrees to 20 degrees C resulted in the increased synthetic activity of the nucleus and cytoplasm of giant neurons. In these conditions, the highest synthetic activity was registered in the apical area of the neuron cytoplasm, providing presumably, the cell neurosecretory activity. The synthetic activity of the axon perinuclear area, producing compounds for the axonal transport, increases at the elevated temperatures to a lesser degree, because it has a relatively high level as well at low temperatures.