Abstract
THE nucleolus was first figured in 1781 as a spot in the centre of a round or oval body (the nucleus) in epithelial cells of the eel. Since then it has been described in the nuclei of almost every type of plant and animal cell. Many interpretations were offered of its nature and function. Perhaps the view most widely accepted until very recent years Was that it acted as a focus for the elaboration of chromatin which passed from it to the chromosomes as they developed through the prophase. During the last decade the use of Feulgen's reaction for the staining of nuclei has given a new impetus to the study of the nucleolus. This stain showed that at no stage does the nucleolus contain chromatin. Feulgen's stain, together with other modern cytological methods, has made possible the tracing of nuteleolar behaviour through all stages of the mitotic and meiotic cycles, and has led to entirely new interpretations of the role of the nucleolus. Most of the recent work has been done on plant cells. Although it is essential that much more attention be given to the nucleoli of animal nuclei, sufficient has been accomplished to show that plant and animal nucleoli are similar in essentials.
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References
Gates, R. Ruggies, "Kucleoli and Related Nuclear Structures" Bot. Rev., 8, 337 (1942).
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SHEFFIELD, F. The Nucleolus. Nature 153, 687–688 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153687a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153687a0