Euglena gracilis chromatin: comparison of effects of zinc, iron, magnesium, or manganese deficiency and cold shock.

The effects induced by Fe, Mn, or Mg deficiency or cold shock on the DNA content and histones of Euglena gracilis have been examined and compared to those produced by Zn deficiency. The DNA content of the stationary-phase organisms used as controls is 2.1 micrograms/10(6) cells. The DNA of stationary-phase iron-deficient (-Fe), magnesium-deficient (-Mg), manganese-deficient (-Mn), zinc-deficient (-Zn), and cold-shocked (CS) cells is increased to 3.0, 4.6, 6.2, 3.8, and 3.8 micrograms/10(6) cells, respectively. The electrophoretic mobilities of proteins solubilized with 0.4 N H2SO4 from CS, -Fe, -Mg, and -Mn cells are nearly identical and are characteristic of the five histone classes, H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. In contrast, no histones are found in the equivalent acid extract from -Zn cells. The effect of micrococcal nuclease on chromatin from control, CS, and -Zn cells was examined. The chromatin of CS cells is 1.2-fold while that from -Zn cells is 10-30-fold more resistant to micrococcal nuclease digestion than is the chromatin of control cells. Thus, the chromatin of cells grown in Zn-deficient conditions differs markedly from that of organisms cultured in media deficient in Fe, Mn, or Mg or exposed to cold shock.