Complementary regions of the nuclear precursor of messenger RNA

Sequences hybridizing to mRNA, oligo(dT) and dsRNA from pre-mRNA are contiguous in the cloned mouse DNA fragments

Fragments from the DNA of mouse embryos produced by restriction endonucleases HindIII were cloned in pBR322 plasmid and examined for the ability to hybridize in situ with [32P] labeled cDNA synthesized from the polysomal poly(A)+mRNA template. Several of the selected clones were examined for the presence of specific sequences inside the cloned mouse DNA fragments by the blotting procedure of southern [1]. The data obtained indicate that the majority of the cloned mouse DNA fragments contained sequences hybridizing with cDNA, oligo(dT) and double-stranded regions from pre-mRNA. The results of hybridization experiments and double digestion with HindIII+HaeIII endonucleases provide evidence that these sequences could be contiguous in the given restriction DNA fragments.

The structural organization of nuclear pre-mRNA. II. Very long double-stranded structures in nuclear pre-mRNA

High molecular weight nuclear pre-messenger RNA (pre-mRNA or hnRNA) isolated from Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells contains besides moderately long (100--200 base pairs) snap-back double-stranded structures, also longer double-stranded structure containing at least 300--800 base pairs. Their double-stranded nature was proved by Cs2SO4 gradient centrifugation. Very long double-stranded sequences are not able to snap-back after RNA melting. While the moderately long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is renatured at C0t1/2 approximately equal to 5-10(-4), the very long dsRNA shows a higher complexity (C0t1/2 approximately equal to 2-10(-2). They also hybridize to less reiterated class of DNA than moderately long dsRNA. Two classes of dsRNA are represented by different sequences as followed from cross-renaturation experiments. Very long dsRNA forms stable hybrids with 20% of total poly(A)+mRNA of cytoplasm. The properties of different classes of ds structures present in nuclear pre-mRNA are compared and their possible nature is discussed. The presence of very long dsRNA may reflect either the symmetric transcription of structural genes, or the transcription from those DNA sequences which are complementary to each other but located in different parts of the genome.

Repetitive sequences and hairpin-like structures in giant RNA of pigeon erythroid cells

In giant molecules (greater than 45 S) of HnRNA from pigeon bone marrow and peripheral blood erythroid cells a correlation is demonstrated between the amounts of hairpin-like structures and the sequences transcribed from the DNA repetitions. The same correlation is observed in the greater than 45 S poly(A)+ and poly(A)- subfractions.

The structural organization of nuclear messenger RNA precursor. I. Reassociation and hybridization properties of double-stranded hairpin-like loops in messenger RNA precursor

The hybridization and renaturation properties of double-stranded hairpin-like loops isolated from giant nuclear messenger RNA precursor of mouse liver or ascites carcinoma cells were studied. About half of the hairpins in messenger RNA precursor appear to contain similar sequences, as indicated by the very fast kinetics of renaturation of the denatured double-stranded RNA sequences. These sequences have no tissue specificity. About one third of the hairpin sequences can hybridize to messenger RNA. It is suggested that the long hairpins in messenger RNA precursor play the role of sequences separating messenger RNA sequences from non-informative sequences and that these hairpins are recognized by processing enzymes.

Double-stranded RNA in chromatin transcripts formed by exogenous RNA polymerase

RNA transcribed in vitro at low ionic strength, from either rat liver chromatin or DNA, contains a significant amount of structure resistant to RNase in high salt buffer. This is observed with rat liver (form B polymerase) as well as with Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (RNA nucleotidyltransferase; nucleoside triphosphate: RNA nucleotidyltransferase; EC 2.7.7.6). Treatment with RNases specific for either double-stranded or hybrid RNA indicates that resistance to RNase is due to the presence of double-stranded RNA sequences. Denaturation kinetics in the presence or absence of RNase suggest that these sequences are formed by intramolecular base pairing. Their mean length is about 20 to 30 nucleotides, but 15-20% are more than 100 nucleotides long. They contain 60-65% G-C base pairs. The proportion of double-stranded segments is higher in chromatin transcripts than in DNA-templated RNA, and is higher with homologous RNA polymerase than with the bacterial enzyme. On the other hand, chromatin endogenous RNA polymerase, which is unable to initiate transcription, does not synthesize double-stranded RNA. The problem of the location of these sequences is discussed; preliminary results suggest that the 5' end of the RNA transcripts could be enriched in complementary sequences.