CHROMOSOME-NUCLEAR MEMBRANE-CYTOPLASMIC INTERRELATIONS IN DROSOPHILA

The structural evidence for nucleocytoplasmic interrelationships observed in electron micrographs of salivary-gland cells of third instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster has been reviewed. It has been found that the characteristic nuclear membrane outpocketings with their adjacent highly differentiated chromosomal materials occur at one stage of larval development at a time when a new cellular function is being initiated. Preliminary cytochemical studies to characterize the materials transferred from nucleus to cytoplasm indicate that deoxyribonucleic acid occurs within the blebs. Observations on chromosome and nuclear membrane structure are also presented.