A dissociation factor from embryos of Xenopus laevis.

A dissociating factor has been extracted from the ribosomal KCl wash and from the cytosol of developing embryos of Xenopus laevis. No dissociating activity could be detected in the KCl wash of ribosomes from full grown oocytes and unfertilized eggs. As in bacteria, the acitivity of the dissociation factor seems to be correlated with the rate of protein synthesis suggesting a physiological role of the dissociation factor. The possibility that the dissociation factor might be one of the components which limits the rate of protein synthesis in the oocytes is discussed.