Mitosis and cytokinesis in the free-living binucleate dinoflagellate Peridinium balticum are described, P. balticum contains 2 nuclei; one is a typical dinoflagellate nucleus and the other resembles the interphase nuclei of some eucaryotic cells and is here named the supernumerary nucleus (formerly called the eucaryotic nucleus). The dinoflagellate nucleus divides in the characteristic manner a...

Cell-free protein-synthesizing systems from Escherichia coli and wheat germ were compared for their capacity to support the translocation of secretory proteins across microsomal membranes derived from mammalian endoplasmic reticulum. Three different secretory proteins, two of bacterial and one of eucaryotic origin, were tested in this respect. In all three cases a contrast between the results i...

Microorganisms are widely used as producers of heterologous (foreign) proteins of medical or industrial interest. Bacteria are the most efficient producers, but they are not able to perform the posttranslational processing of eucaryotic proteins (folding, glycosylation, phosphorylation or removal of part of their initial sequence). Eucaryotic yeasts are able to do the post-translational process...

One of the most conspicuous morphological differences of eucaryotic cells from procaryotic cells is the presence of several membrane compartments within the cell. In order to maintain these organelles, eucaryotic cells transfer membrane structural elements, such as proteins and lipids, between the organelles. In this transfer system, small-size membrane vesicles containing structural elements b...

Because of the increased use of alkaloids in general medical practice in recent years, it is of interest to determine genotoxic, mutagenic and recombinogenic response to different groups of alkaloids in prokaryotic and eucaryotic organisms. Reserpine, boldine and chelerythrine did not show genotoxicity response in the SOS-Chromotest whereas skimmianine showed genotoxicity in the presence of a m...