OBSERVATIONS ON SELECTED ISOLATED RETINAL ELEMENTS AND AN ANALYSIS OF ROD CELL RNA OF THE RABBIT

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
RNA was analyzed in the whole rod cell and in the rod cell nucleus of the rabbit retina. The analysis was performed on rod cells or rod cell nuclei after they were isolated by microdissection and collected. The nuclei were denuded by selectively lysing inner and outer segments chemically. The rod cell contained an average of 0.65 [mu][mu]g RNA. About 60% of the total RNA was nuclear. RNA concentration was of the order of 0.4% w/v. RNA base composition was determined for the whole rod cell and for the rod cell nucleus, and from it the base composition of cytoplasmic RNA was derived also. Microdissection of the retina revealed that each Muller cell had firmly attached to it a certain complement of visual cell, forming a bouquet-like arrangement. The unusual susceptibility of the inner and outer segments to lysis was regarded as an indication of an unique composition of the plasma membrane.
Keywords