Abstract
DAWID1,2 has identified cytoplasmic DNA in amphibian eggs as mitochondrial DNA. This, however, does not comprise all the cytoplasmic DNA one can find in amphibian eggs. There is an important acid-soluble fraction with unknown biological function and cytological origin3,4. Leaving aside the biosynthesis of mitochondrial DNA, one wonders whether amphibian egg cytoplasmic DNA is synthesized de novo. In insect eggs, the DNA found in the ooplasm comes partly from the nurse cells which are disintegrated and incorporated into the ooplasm during oogenesis5–7. A similar phenomenon has not been observed in amphibian eggs, where the follicle cells only form a thin layer of flat cells around the oocyte. On the other hand, the amphibian oocytes are equipped with microvilli connecting the egg cortex with the surrounding follicle cells8,9. This suggests that the ingestion of foreign macromolecules occurs by pinocytosis.
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KONG, Y., FICQ, A. Incorporation of Exogenous (Phage) DNA into Amphibian Oocytes. Nature 214, 491 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/214491a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/214491a0
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