Changes in proportion of thiol to disulphide in acid-soluble nuclear proteins of Echinus during the first cell cycle.

1. DNA synthesis in Echinus esculentus eggs kept at 10 degrees C takes place just after fusion, 0.75-1.5h after fertilization, and at telophase at about 2.67-3.33h after fertilization. 2. An increase in the thiol/thiol+disulphide ratio in acid extracts from washed nuclear fractions of the eggs is found at fusion, at early stages of mitosis and at telophase. When DNA is being synthesized, the relative amount of thiol in the extracts increases. 3. There are at least five thiol-containing histones in the acid extract together with a diffusible thiol peptide containing methyl-lysine and 3-methylhistidine and a thiol-containing acidic protein.