11 



Genetic Control of Cell Integration 



Cell integration refers to the coordination of the metabolic processes 

 proceeding within the structural framework of the cell. In actuality, 

 integrative mechanisms encompass all of cellular biology. Students of 

 heredity seek to define the position of the genetic determinants in these 

 integrative mechanisms. In the preceding chapter we discussed one 

 aspect of this problem: the genetic control of protein structure. This 

 is in a sense a static aspect of gene function, for it concerns the presence 

 or absence of a particular protein. If the only (or principal) contribu- 

 tion of the genetic material were to the determination of protein speci- 

 ficity, then the entire function of integration, the dynamics of cell 

 biology, would be left to gene products and other nongenetic elements. 



Many diverse lines of research are providing evidence that genetic 

 elements are intimately involved in the dynamic features of intracellular 

 transactions, but in our view, any attempt at a systematic discussion of 

 the subject would be premature. Consequently, the purpose of this 

 chapter is not to develop any over-all schema but rather to acquaint the 

 reader with a few of the current directions of research which appear 

 to be particularly revealing. Much of the work to be discussed in this 

 chapter is still in progress, and the results must be considered pre- 

 liminary. The importance of the researches to be discussed lies not only 

 in the new "facts," which may not all stand the test of time but also, 

 and perhaps more significantly, in the new lines of experimental attack 

 being developed, and in the sharpening of concepts. 



Traditionally, this area of research was catalogued under some such 

 heading as "nucleocytoplasmic interactions," and the early work was 

 carried out primarily with large and complex organisms. One of the 

 early attempts to study the problem at the cellular level was made by 

 Hiimmerling, who utilized the enormous single-celled alga, Acetabularia. 



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