Control of DNA synthesis in polyploid mammalian cells.

To test the hypothesis that the duration of DNA synthesis is an inverse function of nuclear size or DNA content, the S phase was calculated from PLM analysis for pseudodiploid, tetraploid, and octaploid lines of Chinese hamster cells growing as a monolayer or in suspension. S phase times were found not to be significantly different between polyploid lines and the diploid lines from which they were derived, regardless of the conformation of the nucleus. There is no evidence, therefore, that would implicate the nuclear membrane, or nuclear surface area/volume relationships, in the control of DNA synthesis.