Abstract
THE role of the nucleic acids, deoxypentosenucleic acid (DNA) and pentosenucleic acid (PNA), in the growth and differentiation of organisms has been thoroughly examined and characterized. Rapidly growing tissues usually display rapid synthesis of DNA, PNA and protein. The synthetic rate of these constituents in a given tissue may be estimated by the relative amount of each present. Most of the systems that have been investigated in this regard have required the use of several different individual preparations at different stages of development. Tapeworms, such as Hymenolepis diminuta, should be ideal organisms for the examination of certain principles of growth and differentiation, for along the length of the strobila is a gradient of developmental stages, all within the same individual. The experiments reported in this communication were designed to test the usefulness of the tapeworm in a typical examination of growth and development.
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LEE, T., CAMPBELL, J. DNA, PNA and Protein Contents in a Rapidly Differentiating System, the Rat Tapeworm (Hymenolepis diminuta). Nature 203, 661–662 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/203661b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/203661b0
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