Observation on intranuclear crystal and nucleolar size at different stages of cell differentiation in the midgut epithelium of several insects.

Based on an inverse size relationship between nuclear crystal and nucleolus in different cells it has been postulated by several authors that the crystal develops from nucleolar materials. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the validity of this argument. Intranuclear proteinaceous crystals appear in differentiating midgut cells of Gyrinus marinus and Tenebrio molitor. In an autoradiographic study we have previously demonstrated in these two species that the crystals do not develop from nucleolar materials. However, an inverse relationship with regard to size is observed between these 2 structures during the cell differentiation: the cross-sectional area of the nucleolus decreases when the cross-sectional area of the crystal increases. But a decrease in size of the nucleolus is also observed during the differentiation of the midgut cells of Gyrinus natator where the crystals are not present. Consequently an inverse size relationship cannot be a sufficient argument to postulate that intranuclear crystals and nucleoli are interconvertible structures; decrease in size of the nucleolus is not related to development of the intranuclear crystal.