Presence of poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase and poly (ADP‐ribose) glycohydrolase in the dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase have been detected in chromatin extracts from the dinoflagellate Crypthecodinium cohnii. Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase was detected by the liberation of ADP-ribose from poly(ADP-ribose). Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase was proved by (a) demonstration of phosphoribosyl-AMP in the phosphodiesterase digest of the reaction product, (b) demonstratioin of ADP-ribose oligomers by fractionation of the reaction product on DEAE-Sephadex. The (ADP-ribose)-protein transfer is dependent on DNA; it is inhibited by nicotinamide, thymidine, theophylline and benzamide. The protein-(ADP-ribose bond is susceptible to 0.1 M NaOH (70 %) and 0.4 M NH2OH (33 %). Dinoflagellates, nucleated protists, are unique in that their chromatin lacks histones and shows a conformation like bacterial chromatin [Loeblich, A. R., III (1976) J. Protozool. 23, 13–281; poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, however, has been found only in eucaryotes. Thus our results suggest that histones were not relevant to the establishment of poly(ADP-ribose) during evolution.