PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN VISUAL CELLS OF LIMULUS

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Abstract
Abstract— The incorporation of l‐[4,5‐3H]leucine into the primary visual cells of lateral eyes of Xiphusura polyphemus (Limulus) was followed by electron microscopic radio‐autography, while protein synthesis in the tissue surrounding the primary cells was measured by scintillation counting of the extracted protein. In the primary cells, the incorporation of radioactivity during 24 h into the rhabdomal membranes was 10–20 times greater in dark than in light, and was especially high in eyes that had been exposed to light before a period of incorporation in the dark. In tissue adjacent to the primary cells, protein synthesis was about 50 per cent greater in eyes exposed to light. These results are interpreted in terms of the photochemistry of Limulus rhodopsin and the competition for ATP between sodium‐pump and protein‐synthetic mechanisms.