Morphogenetic disturbances from timed inhibitions of protein synthesis in Fundulus

The reversible inhibition of protein synthesis at the 75–95% level in the early zygote of Fundulus results in a specific series of developmental failures dependent upon the times of inhibitor pulse initiation. The severity of the morphogenetic failure is inversely related to the time of initiation and directly to the length of the pulse. The defects reflect the time dependent serial order of events in morphogenesis. The defects range from failure of cleavage through disorders of blastulation, failure of axiation, anencephaly to microcephaly and are entirely predictable. With the exception of cleavage failure the pattern is identical with that found using pulses of actinomycin D in a similar manner. The agent used was pactamycin, an antibiotic which reversibly inhibits amino acid incorporation into protein by disturbing the assembly of the functional ribosomal complex. The significance of time dependent protein synthesis as an active expression in morphogenesis of similarly time dependent information flow via RNA synthesis is discussed.