Incorporation and Degradation of 14C and 3H-labeled Thymidine by Sugarcane Cells in Suspension Culture

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Abstract
Sugarcane cells growing in suspension culture degrade exogenous thymidine, releasing thymine. Thymine is not utilized for DNA synthesis. Thymine is rapidly catabolized to beta-aminoisobutyric acid which is found within the cell. Thymidine in the medium is used for DNA synthesis. The label of [2-(14)C]thymidine is lost as (14)CO(2), but the label of [(3)H]methylthymidine is found in the cell as [(3)H]beta-aminoisobutyric acid, some of which is used for the synthesis of other cell components. The degradation of thymidine can be partially inhibited by addition of certain substituted pyrimidines.