The Chemical Composition of Lambda in Paramecium aurelia, Stock 299

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Abstract
Paramecium aurelia containing [lambda] particles was grown in an axenic medium; the [lambda] particles were purified by passing homogenized organisms through a column of the anion exchange resin Ecteola. The [lambda] particles were stained heavily with pyronin Y and weakly with the Feulgen procedure, in vivo and in vitro. Chemical analysis of the [lambda] particles revealed that a single particle contained: 0.026 picogram (pg.) DNA, 0.230 pg. RNA, 4.0 pg. protein, 0.350 pg. carbohydrate, 5.6 pg. phospholipid. The RNA/DNA ratio in the [lambda] particle was 8.8 as compared with a RNA/DNA ratio of 11.3 in the [kappa] particle. Both particles contain about the same amount (0.0049 pg., and 0.0045 pg./[mu]3, respectively) of DNA, yet the [lambda] particles stained very faintly with the Feulgen procedure, while the [kappa] particles stained very heavily.