Temporal relationships on macromolecular synthesis during the asexual cell cycle of Plasmodium falciparum.

The over-all synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein was studied during the asexual cell cycle of Plasmodium falciparum. A method for stringent synchronization of the culture was developed. Rates of synthesis of the three macromolecules were determined every four hours by labelling the parasites with radioactive precursors during 30 min pulses. There was a peak of synthesis of DNA at 44 hours. Between 33 and 45 hours the rate of synthesis of DNA was exponential. Maximum RNA synthesis was reached at 36 hours. For proteins there were two peaks, one at 24 and the other at 40 hours. Partial degradation of the RNA synthesized by schizonts was detected.