Abstract | The maturation process in the nucleated avian erythrocyte has been shown to involve complete cessation of DNA synthesis and cell division (Cameron and Kastberg, 1969; Attardi et al., 1970), pronounced reduction in RNA and protein synthesis (Cameron and Kastberg, 1969; Attardi et al., 1970; Cameron and Prescott, 1963; Scherrer et al., 1966; Kabat and Attardi, 1967), marked nuclear condensation (Kernell et al., 1971; Brasch et al., 1971) increased haemoglobin content and decreased cell buoyancy (Kabat and Attardi, 1967; Mathias et al., 1969; Adams et al., 1971). Furthermore, the erythrocyte nucleus contains major proportions of a characteristic histone V or f2c (Neelin et al., 1964; Hnilica, 1964). Although the actual role in vivo of this highly basic histone is unknown, recent studies indicate that it may function both as a repressor of the genome (Seligy and Neelin, 1970) and as an agent supporting condensation of the chromatin in the mature erythrocyte (Brasch et al., 1972). |
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