Some Effects of Triton X-100 on Pea Etioplasts

When pea etioplast preparations were treated with Triton X-100, the membranes disappeared, the pigments were solubilized, and the organelles appeared to disintegrate. Low speed centrifugation (2000g) of the preparations following treatment with Triton X-100 resulted in a pellet which contained considerable quantities of plastid material. This included RNA polymerase and DNA polymerase activity, much of the DNA, about 30% of the RNA, and 50% of the protein of the washed plastid. The amount of RNA polymerase and DNA polymerase activity associated with the low speed pellet was dependent on the pH during Triton treatment. Significant quantities of the RNA polymerase activity of chloroplasts from spinach, peas, and tobacco were also recovered in the pellet after Triton treatment.