DNA replication in Physarum polycephalum: electron microscopic analysis of patterns of DNA replication in the presence of cycloheximide

DNA from synchronously replicating nuclei of Physarum polycephalum was studied electron microscopically after 15, 30, 60, and 90 or 120 min of replication in the presence or absence of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. The replication-loop size-distribution showed that replication fork progression is severely retarded in the presence of cycloheximide. Analysis of replication-loop frequency showed a similar pattern in control and cyclo-heximide-treated samples, with an increase from 15 to 30 and 60 min. This suggests, surprisingly, that initiations of new replicons either may not be inhibited by cycloheximide or, alternatively, that all initiations have already taken place at the very start of S-phase. The latter conclusion is favored in the light of previous results in our laboratory, discussed here.