Regulatory factor for the transcription of the ribosomal genes in amphibian oocytes.

AMPHIBIAN oocytes provide very convenient material for the study of the mechanisms that control ribosomal RNA synthesis because their pattern of ribosomal RNA synthesis does not change greatly during oogenesis. During the lampbrush stage of oogenesis (stage 4) more than 97 per cent of the RNA synthesized per unit time in the oocytes is ribosomal. This happens because the genes for ribosomal RNA are specifically amplified3–5 to such an extent that the oocyte nucleus (germinal vesicle) has an rDNA content approximately 1,500 times more than the haploid amount4. On the other hand, in mature oocytes (stage 6) no ribosomal RNA is synthesized1,2, although the extra copies of the ribosomal cistron…