Chapter 38 



Biosynthesis of Proteins in Intact Bacterial Cells 



F. Gros 

 Institut Pasteur, Paris, France 



I. Introduction .., 409 



II. Organization of the Bacterial Cell 410 



1. The Pool of "Free" Metabolites 410 



2. Amino Acid Activation Systems — Soluble RNA 412 



3. State of the Ribonucleoprotein in E. coli 416 



4. State of the DNA in Bacteria 417 



5. The Cell Wall and the Cytoplasmic Membrane 418 



III. Synthesis of Macromolecular Components during Normal Bacterial Growth 419 



1. Metabolic Stability of Proteins and Nucleic Acids 419 



2. Rate of Incorporation of Radioactive Precursors into Proteins and Nu- 

 cleic Acids 423 



IV. Uncoupled Synthesis of Macromolecules in Bacteria 430 



1. Protein and RNA Synthesis in the Absence of DNA Synthesis 430 



2. Protein Synthesis in the Absence of RNA Synthesis, or during Forma- 

 tion of an Atypical RNA 432 



3. Nucleic Acid Synthesis in the Absence of Protein Synthesis 436 



4. Necessity of Amino Acids for the Synthesis of RNA 438 



V. Protein Synthesis After Selective Destruction or Removal of a Nucleic Acid . 440 



1. Enzyme and Protein Synthesis After Transmutation of the Phosphorus 

 Atoms in Bacterial DNA 440 



2. RNA Content and Rate of Protein Synthesis 442 



VI. General Discussion 447 



1. Intermediate Steps in Protein Formation 447 



2. Nucleic Acid as Constituents of the Protein-Forming System 448 



3. Transfer of Information from the DNA 449 



4. Regulation of the Rate of Protein Synthesis 449 



VII. Addendum 450 



I. Introduction 



It might appear paradoxical to justify the use of intact cells as biological 

 material. Is it not the main goal of biology to study the behavior of the 

 cell? 



Nevertheless in biochemical studies, at present, there is a growing tend- 

 ency to fractionate cells into subcellular components or to extract from 

 them soluble enzymes, in order to determine the systems catalyzing the 

 biosynthesis of the macromolecules. Great progress has been made in this 



409 



