Purine- and Pyrimidine-Specific Antibodies: Effect on the Fertilized Sea Urchin Egg

Antiserums from rabbits immunized with several purine- and pyrimidine-containing albumin conjugates can penetrate and become fixed within cells of Arbacia punctulata. All of these specific antiserums were found to inhibit embryonic development of the fertilized sea urchin egg. The stage of arrestment of development was dependent in part upon the dilution of antiserum, and also upon the nature of its specificity. It is suggested that the observed results reflect the interaction of these antiserums with singlestranded DNA within the cell.