Protein synthesis and the presence or absence of a measurable G1 in cultured chinese hamster cells

Abstract
V79‐8 cells lack a measurable G1 interval under normal growth conditions. We found that partial inhibition of protein synthesis using low levels of cycloheximide (0.05 μ/ml) could induce a measurable G1 in these cells without any significant effects on S, G2, or M. In view of these findings, recessive mutants selected from the V79‐8 cell line, which each express G1, were analyzed for their rates of protein synthesis and degradation/loss. Three of the four mutants showed a decreased rate of protein synthesis sufficient to account for their G1 lengths. A fourth mutant, however, showed parental rates of both protein synthesis and degradation/loss. These results suggest not only that a G1 interval can be expressed as a result of a decreased rate of protein synthesis, but that other alterations (mutations) other than those simply affecting overall protein synthesis can result in the expression of a measureable G1 interval.