Open AccessFlow fluorometric study of DNA content in nonproliferative Euglena gracilis cells and during proliferation
Author(s) -
Bonaly J.,
Mestre J. C.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
cytometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1097-0320
pISSN - 0196-4763
DOI - 10.1002/cyto.990020108
Subject(s) - euglena gracilis , ethidium bromide , fluorescence , biophysics , population , biology , intensity (physics) , chemistry , dna , chromatography , biochemistry , optics , physics , demography , chloroplast , sociology , gene
Ethanol‐fixed Euglena gracilis cells have been analyzed by flow microfluorometry during the lag, logarithmic and stationary phases. The histogram of a plateau stage culture reveals, as expected, an unimodal distribution, but the peak is at a lower fluorescence intensity as compared to G1 logarithmic cells. The fluorescence intensity drops as the cells enter the stationary stage. Ultimately the decrease represents a change of about 25%. When cells recover from the plateau stage, the fluorescence intensity increases during the lag phase, and climbs to the level found in a Gl logarithmic population. The reason for the decrease in the fluorescence intensity during the stationary stage may be due to a possible loss of DNA or to a decrease in the number of chromatin‐binding sites for intercalating ethidium bromide.