Transfer of information from mRNA to chromosomes by reverse transcription in early development of goldfish eggs.

In earlier publications, we have recorded evidence that micro-injection of globin mRNA from rabbit into goldfish eggs leads to the production of rabbit globin in mature red blood cells of goldfish. This paper is concerned with the mechanism of that apparent transfer of genetic information from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. We investigate the possibility that the injected mRNA is reverse transcribed to create a corresponding cDNA in goldfish eggs. By using purified mRNA from rabbit reticulocytes and micro-injection into enucleated and nucleated goldfish eggs, we show that the production of a DNA sequence hybridizes to cloned cDNA of rabbit globin mRNA and appears to become incorporated into the chromosomes of the developing eggs.