Control points in Neurospora crassa nuclear division cycle: different effects of the inhibition of protein...

The correlation between protein synthesis and the nuclear division cycle in Neurospora crassa hyphae was studied by inhibiting protein accumulation by two different experimental procedures: (1) starvation for lysine in a lysine-requiring mutant (lys-1); and (2) addition of cycloheximide. Lysine starvation in a lys-1 strain of N. crassa quickly blocked the nuclear division cycle and nuclei accumulated in G1 phase, as judged by their DNA content. After re-addition of lysine to starved cultures, a discontinuous pattern of uridine incorporation into DNA can be seen, showing that the nuclei were well synchronized. On the other hand, treatment with cycloheximide caused the arrest of a large proportion of the nuclei, also, in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. These results indicate that inhibition of protein synthesis may have multiple effects on the cell cycle in N. crassa and that, while moderate inhibition specifically blocks nuclei at a regulatory point in late G1, strong or complete inhibition demonstrates requirement for protein synthesis at other points in the cycle that are not necessarily regulatory points.