Looking for nuclear translation using xenopus oocytes

In eukaryotes transcription and translation takes place in two different compartments separated by the nuclear envelope. Nuclear translation has been reported in several publications, however, all these published results have been criticized, particularly with respect to cytoplasmic contamination of the nuclei. We have investigated the question of nuclear protein synthesis using a different strategy. We microinjected frog oocytes with different DNA and RNA constructs and searched for translation products in nuclei separated from the cytoplasm by microdissection. We have been unable to detect any translation within the nuclei but rather a saturable translation in the perinuclear cytoplasm associated with the isolated nuclei. (C) 2003 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.