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Journal List > Biochem J > v.100(2); Aug 1966

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Biochem J. 1966 August; 100(2): 448–457.
PMCID: PMC1265155
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Effects of colchicine on nucleic acid metabolism during metamorphosis of Tenebrio molitor L. and in some mammalian tissues
J. Ilan* and J. H. Quastel
McGill Unit of Cell Metabolism, McGill University, Montreal, P.Q., Canada
*Present address: The Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y. 10021, U.S.A.
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Abstract
1. Administration of 10μg. of colchicine/pupa of the beetle Tenebrio molitor L. arrests its differentiation, the pupa remaining alive for 2–3 weeks. 2. The same concentration of colchicine inhibits DNA synthesis and stimulates RNA synthesis (as shown by incorporation into the nucleic acids of labelled adenine, labelled uridine and labelled thymidine). The effects of colchicine on nucleic acid metabolism are first detected 3 days after its administration to first-day pupae. 3. No effects of colchicine are seen on [1-14C]glycine incorporation into protein in vivo. 4. Relatively high concentrations of colchicine (e.g. 10mm) suppress incorporation of [8-14C]adenine into RNA in dorsal abdominal wall in vitro. Such concentrations have no effect on its incorporation into acid-soluble nucleotides. 5. Colchicine (1mm) suppresses incorporation of [8-14C]adenine into DNA to a greater extent than into RNA in various mammalian tissues in vitro (e.g. rat spleen, regenerating rat liver, rat embryo, guinea-pig intestinal mucosa, Ehrlich ascites cells). Colchicine (1mm) has no effect on the rate of respiration of, or on incorporation of radioactivity into acid-soluble nucleotides in, the mammalian tissues tested. 6. Further evidence indicates complex-formation between colchicine and DNA, and it is suggested that the effect of colchicine in suppressing DNA synthesis is due to its combination with the DNA primer (template).
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Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
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