Precursor--Product Relationships between Nucleotides and RNA during Differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum

SUMMARY: Fourteen of the sixteen nucleotides present in extracts of Dictyostelium discoideum were identified by thin-layer chromatography. Data are presented describing the incorporation of radioactive bases into the guanine nucleotide pools and into RNA. Studies with labelled guanine suggested that a small fraction of the RNA undergoes rapid turnover at the pre-culmination stage of differentiation. Analytical methods are described for determining flux rates in vivo and the percentage turnover of endogenous pools.